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WHAT I SAW AT CASSADAGA 'LAKE: 
1888. 



ADDENDUM 

To a Review in 1887 of the 

Seybekt Commissioneks' Kepoet. 

A. B. RICHMOND, Esq., 

A Membeb of the Pennsylvania Bar; Author of "Leaves 
from the Diary of an Old Lawyer," "^6ijre and -Of^Q 
Prison," "Dr. Crosby's Calm Viet^ from a ~>Ght 
Lawyer's Standpoint," and "A, Hawk 

in an Eagle's Nest." *• I 'X \ V * 



No pleasure is comparable to the standing on the vantage ground of truth." 

—Francis Bacon. 



"Ad officium justiciar lor um, spectat, rent cuique coram 
eis placitanti Justitiam exhibere.'* 



BOSTON: 
COLBY & RICH, PUBLISHERS, 

9 Bosworth Street. 

1889. 






COPYRIGHT, 1889, 

By A. B. RICHMOND. 



Typography by J. S. Cushing & Co., Boston. 
Presswork by Berwick & Smith, Boston. 



/ 



yy/ 



&%, 



DEDICATION. 



To the Seybekt Commission: 

Because of my daily increasing admiration of your "Pre- 
liminary Report," and my appreciation of your continued in- 
vestigation of the system of '■'■religion or philosophy" so dear 
to the late Henry Seybert ; and for the fairness and Christian 
charity with which you treated the conscientious religious be- 
lief of millions of your fellow-men; as also for the manifest 
candor and truthfulness of your narrations of what you saw 
and heard in your investigations, and because of my unbounded 
respect for the unique method of your scientific enquiry, and 
for other reasons too numerous to mention, this little brochure 
is most affectionately dedicated to you by the 

Author. 

January 21, 1889. 



PREFACE 



" Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of 
thorns, or figs of thistles 1" — Matt. vii. 16. 

" Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them." — Matt. vii. 20. 

Cassadaga Lake. 

Visitors to Lily Dale cannot but be favorably impressed 
with what they will see and hear on the assembly grounds 
of the " Cassadaga Lake Free Association." 

First they will observe the beauty of the place and its 
surroundings, — the grand old woods ; the picturesque lake, 
with its shores of forest and meadow ; the tasteful vine- 
clad cottages ; the well-kept lawns, where bright-hued 
flowers mingle their perfume with the scent of woodland 
mosses and ferns ; the large, well-seated auditorium, 
with its capacious platform converted by flowers and 
evergreens into a very bower of fragrance and beauty : 
all these will first attract the attention of the stranger. 

Then he will observe the concourse of well-dressed, or- 

? 
derly, and intelligent- people who throng its streets, lawns, 

and cottage porticoes ; while music and song, and the 

mirthf ul voices of youth and childhood — 

" Make the foliage of the ancient grove 
Vibrate with the tones of joy and gladness." 

As the visitors pass along and listen to the subjects of 
conversation of the numerous coteries engaged in genial 
intercourse beneath the trees and porticoes, they will hear 
no social scandal or invidious remarks on human falli- 



b PREFACE. 

bility. They will discover that this is no public resort 
where fashion and frailty are the subjects of thought and 
themes of converse ; but that all are occupied with the 
one great, solemn, unsolved enigma, — 

" If a man die, shall he live again? " 

Deep-thinking men and women — the learned and un- 
learned — young men and maidens, all find in this prob- 
lem an all-absorbing subject of conversation ; while the 
evidences that each has received of a future existence 
and its conditions are narrated and discussed with an 
interest that cannot but have a beneficial influence on 
their lives and conduct. 

If the visitors remain during the session, their favor- 
able impressions will be increased with each passing day ; 
they will see no policeman, decked with the paraphernalia 
of the majesty of the law, parading the beautiful high- 
ways or by-ways of Lily Dale, to enforce good conduct. 
They will witness no unseemly sports or pastimes ; only 
those innocent amusements approved by all, save those 
whose bigotry can hear sin in music, and see crime in 
youthful enjoyment. On the Sabbath day they will see 
nothing that would not become any religious congregation 
convened for the worship of the Most High ; and should 
they attend the Sunday services at the auditorium and 
listen to the beautiful invocations, songs of praise, and 
lectures on the philosophy of Spiritualism with its glorious 
promises of the future, they cannot but feel a deeper 
sense of their duties to their fellow-men and their obliga- 
tions to the Creator. 

It is true they would hear no creeds or dogmas that 
consigned their disbelieving neighbors and friends, their 
children and those dear to them in this life, to endless 
perdition. They would hear no theories that placed a 
radiant crown on the brows of those "who served the 



PREFACE. 7 

Lord because they feared the Devil" ; but they would 
hear expounded a beautiful philosophy that teaches adora- 
tion to a Creator worthy of their love, and a philan- 
thropy whose broad charity encompasses all mankind. 

" In the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be," 

is the creed there enunciated ; and its application to 
human life and conduct teaches the significant lesson, 
that virtue, honesty, and morality here will best prepare 
us for the life beyond the grave. 

The pernicious doctrine, that a long career of sin and 
crime can be atoned for by a few moments of prayer, 
uttered with the last dying breath, and the scaffold be- 
come the threshold of the portals of heaven, is never 
heard uttered in the beautiful groves of Lily Dale ; but 
from medium and platform, in song and invocation, men * 
are taught that the effects of sin reach far beyond the 
tomb, and may mould our conditions during all the long 
eons of eternity. The pharisaical sentiment of Holy 
Willie's prayer, — 

11 But, Lord, remember me and mine, 
"WT mercies temp'ral and divine, 
That I for gear and grace may shine, 

Excell'd by nane, 
And a' the glory shall be thine. 

Amen, Amen ! " 

is never heard there ; but thankfulness for the blessings 
of both earth and heaven bestowed upon all mankind ; 
and for the demonstrative evidence of a future life of 
advancement in all that is good, is the theme of song, 
lecture, and invocation. Christian hope there finds posi- 
tive evidence of its future gratification. True religious 
faith is there re-enforced by proof that its prophecies will 
be fulfilled ; while infidelity is confounded by the demon- 
strations of physical facts and occult phenomena. Surely 



8 PREFACE. 

there is nothing in all this that should antagonize the 
Christian world, but rather meet with its approval. For 
so long as the tears of bereaved affection shall fall on the 
graves of the beloved dead, and memory be true to its 
sacred trust, so long will the human mind receive with 
gladness evidence which is stronger than faith, greater 
than hope, and that positively asserts " if a man lives he 
shall never die." 

It is true the visitor will hear discussed many specula- 
tive theories that will not bear the crucial test of either 
science or logic ; but not more than are weekly enunciated 
from orthodox press and pulpit. He will also witness 
fraud and deception, as did the world for many centuries 
after the Saviour performed his miracles before an incredu- 
lous or disbelieving populace ; yet the truths that will be 
demonstrated cannot but convince him that there is an 
unseen intelligence around or above us that manifests 
itself do clearly and positively that none can doubt its 
presence who have witnessed its phenomena. 

The visitors should not reject truth because it is often 
found in the company of falsehood ; neither facts because 
they are sometimes mingled with error ; but, like the 
searchers for diamonds in the mines of Golconda, throw 
away all that is worthless while they reserve only the 
pure gems. 

" Man fearlessly his voice for truth should raise, 
When truth would force its way in deed or word, 

Whether for him the popular voice of praise 
Or the cold sneer of unbelief is heard ; 

Like the First Martyr, when his voice arose 
Distinct above the hisses of his foes." 

The Object of this Addendum 

Is to add cumulative evidence to the facts and conclu- 
sions narrated in my first review of the Seybert Commis- 



PREFACE. 9 

sioners' Report ; to call the attention of the general reader 
to the genuine so-called spirit phenomena, and to mark 
the difference between them and the magic of the show- 
man ; to offer only such evidence as would be received in 
our courts of justice, when the most momentous inter- 
ests of both men and nations were the subjects of legal 
investigation. By the accumulated wisdom of past centu- 
ries, the science of evidence has become as fixed and rigid 
in its rules, as logical and truthful in its deductions and 
conclusions, as any other science outside of mathematics. 
The happening of past events, the existence of physical 
facts, what have occurred in the lives of men and nations, 
are only made evident in our judicial tribunals by human 
testimony. If the narrations of unprejudiced, disinter- 
ested witnesses were not received as truthful in our courts, 
our attempts to administer justice under the law would be 
a most miserable farce, and the proceedings in every legal 
forum but a " comedy of errors." No juror has a right 
to disregard the disinterested statement of a man of 
ordinary truthfulness, and he will not do so unless his 
moral consciousness of his own unreliability would lead 
him to believe that all men are liars, and that a disposi- 
tion to bear " false witness " is the normal condition of 
mankind. 

From that great jury, the public, who may read the 
evidence recorded on the pages of this little book, I ask 
only the justice that every individual juror would have a 
right to expect if his own interests were suspended in the 
judicial balance to be decided by the only evidence that 
can be produced, — that of human tongue and pen. The 
candid, thinking mind will most willingly concede this 
justice to me ; and to him who is its possessor I appeal in 
a consciousness of the righteousness of my cause ; and 
from him I expect a candid verdict. But from the bigot 
who can see no truth outside of the logic and teachings 



10 PEEFACB. 

of his creed, I expect nothing but the contumely of igno- 
rance and the condemnation of intolerance. 

In presenting the evidence and arguments to the jury I 
have tried to assume the plain conversational forms of 
social intercourse ; to avoid the pedantry of science and 
the assumption of inspiration ; to talk with my jury as if 
we had met in friendly conversation ; to examine the evi- 
dence candidly, "to winnow the chaff from the wheat," 
and, if possible, to ascertain what is and what is not 
proven in the claims of so-called spirit manifestations, 
always remembering that — 

" Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow : 
He who would search for pearls must dive below." 

Since I visited Cassadaga Lake in 1887, my conviction 
of the truth of the so-called spirit phenomena has become 
stronger and stronger as I have investigated under strictly 
test conditions. "While I have rejected much, I have been 
compelled to receive more, or else ignore the positive evi- 
dence of my senses ; and I now feel as one standing on 
the shore of a mighty ocean, who finds on the sand at his 
feet ' ' a beautifully painted shell or a curiously variegated 
pebble to admire, while the whole bosom of the mighty 
deep lies unexplored before him." 



ADDENDUM 



TO THE REVIEW OF THE 



SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 



CHAPTER I. 

"This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both 
which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance." — 2 Peter 
iii. 1. 

" I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons 
I warn you." — 1 Cor. iv. 14. 

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a 
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." — 1 Peter 
v. 8. 

AN OPEN LETTER 

TO THE SEYBERT COMMISSION. 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission : 

Respected Friends, — It gives me great pleasure at 
this time to renew our brief yet pleasant correspondence 
which terminated somewhat abruptly on your part a year 
ago. Doubtless you will remember that one Henry Sey- 
bert gave to the University of Pennsylvania the sum of 
$60,000 to be devoted " to the maintenance of a chair in 
the said University to be known as the Adam Seybert Chair 
of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy, upon the condition 
that the iucumbent of said chair, either individually or in 
conjunction with a commission of the University faculty, 
shall make a thorough and impartial investigation of all 
systems of morals, religion or philosophy which assume 



12 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

to represent the truth, and particularly of Modern Spirit- 
ualism." Since my last letter to you the interest on said 
bonds must amount to the sum of $4800 ; and as the 
trustees of the University are honest Christian gentlemen, 
doubtless they earnestly desire that the said interest should 
be expended in strict accordance with the wishes of the 
generous donor. 

Remember, gentlemen, it is not the "University of 
Pennsylvania " alone that is interested in the proper ex- 
penditure of the yearly interest accruing on the " mortgage 
bonds " which constitute this munificent bequest. In fact, 
the world at large is the legatee of the late Henry Seybert, 
while the trustees of the University are also trustees of 
the deceased philanthropist who desired to educate and 
enlighten his fellow-men. It was a sacred trust he im- 
posed upon them, and by every principle of manhood and 
morality should that trust be faithfully executed. Has 
this been done? Has the "Adam Seybert Chair" been 
established? and has the incumbent of that chair, either 
individually or in conjunction with a commission of the 
University faculty, complied with the obligations that en- 
title them to the Seybert bequest? Will you, gentlemen, 
kindly inform the public on this question ? Will you tell 
the legatee what has been done with the annual interest 
of the $60,000, and if it has been expended by the trus- 
tees of the University in strict accordance with the desire 
of the generous dead? The crumbling dust of Henry 
Seybert cannot appear in our courts of equity against 
them ; his voiceless lips may be silent in our judicial 
forums, yet dare you say that his spirit does not live and 
through the invisible agency of unseen powers demand 
justice at your hands? As the "voice of the blood of 
Abel cried from the ground," and reached the ear of the 
Most High, so may the plaints of other wrongs done on 
earth pass the boundaries of the spirit world, to be re- 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 13 

turned like answering echoes through the same power that 
accused the first murderer of his crime. 

Gentlemen, the phenomena of Modern Spiritualism are 
to-day attracting the attention of the public mind as they 
never did before. The most prominent public prints ac- 
knowledge their existence and relate their wonders to 
thousands of eager readers every day. The unseemly 
scoffs and senseless sneers of even learned commissioners 
prove naught against them. One of the ablest and most 
conservative papers printed on this continent, one with a 
world-wide circulation, the Scientific American, says : — 

" Now these things seem to justify us in recurring to the sub- 
ject of Spiritualism, . . . and to point out some of the things 
which science has to do with. ... In the first place, then, we 
find no words wherewith adequately to express our sense of the 
magnitude of its importance to science, if it be true. Such 
words as profound, vast, stupendous, would need to be strength- 
ened a thousand-fold to be fitted to such a use. If true, it will 
become the one grand event of the world's history ; it will give 
an imperishable luster to the glory of the nineteenth century. 
Its discoverer will have no rival in renown. . . . For Spiritual- 
ism involves a stultification of what are considered the most 
certain and fundamental conclusions of science. ... If the pre- , 
tensions of Spiritualism have a rational foundation, no more 
important work has been offered to men of science than their 
verification. A realization of the elixir vitce, the philosopher's 
stone, and perpetual motion, is of less importance to mankind 
than the verification of Spiritualism." 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, the public mind 
demands a " thorough and impartial investigation. " The 
duties you have assumed demand it ; both law and com- 
mon honesty require it at your hands ; and if you fail to 
perform the plain obligation of your trust, coming years 
will give you an unenviable notoriety. 

Since my letter to you of September, 1887, 1 have given 
the subject of so-called spirit manifestations considerable 



14 ADDENDUM TO THE KEVIEW OF 

attention. I have witnessed a number of phenomena 
under strictly test conditions, and will briefly relate to 
you my experiences, hoping thereby to induce you to give 
the subject farther consideration, and that you will lay 
aside your scoffs and sneers, and with a candor becoming 
the subject, and a sincerity demanded by your position, 
investigate "carefully, thoroughly, and impartially," as 
you would any other scientific problem submitted to you ; 
and when you have done so, that you will fearlessly and 
truthfully announce the result in a manner becoming a 
great commission. Remember that the Spiritualists ask 
no especial favors at your hands ; they are seeking for 
truth as earnestly as you are ; they desire that fraud may 
be exposed as sincerely as you do ; there is no mercenary 
motive on their part, no desire to misappropriate a bequest 
of $60,000, or to violate obligations due to the generous 
dead. Justice under the law and respect for their religious 
faith is all they ask from you, and you will be less than 
men if their demand is unheeded. 



My Late Experience. 

In July, 1888, 1 visited Mr. W. S. Rowley of Cleveland, 
Ohio, the medium for independent spirit telegraphing. I 
found him to be a very intelligent, pleasant gentleman, 
who gave me every opportunity to thoroughly examine his 
device. I saw only an ordinary battery, sounder, and key. 
The key was enclosed in a small box that opened in halves, 
the two parts being connected by hinges, and when open 
permitted the key to be critically examined. Across the 
box, at right augles to the key, was a coil of small copper 
wire attached at each end to small brass plates screwed 
to the sides of the box. This coil had no connection with 
the wires from the battery, and any ordinary electrician 
would say that it could have no possible connection with 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 15 

either the sounder or the battery. On the top of the key 
was a small brass spring, bent in such a way that when 
the box was closed it could not touch the inside of the 
top ; and on the closest examination an expert electrician 
would fail to see that either the coil or the spring could 
produce any effect on the battery current in breaking or 
closing it. I understand from Mr. Rowley that the device 
was constructed according to instructions from his con- 
trol, Dr. Wells, yet the use of the coil or spring is not 
apparent to the modern scientist ; but this much I will 
say : They are no part of a magical device ; and when 
the box is closed, covering the key and coil, no human 
hand outside of the box can touch them or use them to 
break the battery current. 

At one of my interviews with Mr. Rowley he permitted 
me to remove the whole device into another room, adjust 
it myself under such conditions as absolutely precluded 
the possibility of fraud or deception. While I was adjust- 
ing the instrument I did wish so much that the member 
of your Commission who possesses the "trained habits 
of observation" had been present with his " pocket look- 
ing-glass " to have helped me to solve the mystery. But 
assisted by a friend — Mr. Woodruff, who is an accom- 
plished telegraphic operator — and my own experience as 
an electrician, I did the best I could under the circum- 
stances, unaided either by the refulgent rays of a " penny 
mirror," or the peculiar properties of " Caffray's flypaper," 
which performed such an important part in your late pro- 
found investigations. Pardon me, gentlemen, but my 
admiration for your peculiar system of scientific enquiry 
has led me to wander from my subject. 

I had several quite lengtlry interviews with Mr. Rowley 
on different days, and each time under different test con- 
ditions, and now at the risk of having my name placed 
by the side of your worthy chairman as another product 



16 ADDENDUM TO THE KEVTEW OF 

of his "gooseberry receipt," I am constrained to say that 
if I ever received a telegraphic message dictated by a 
human brain, I then and there did receive communications 
through the telegraph I have described, that cannot be 
explained by the most learned electricians of to-day. 
Apparently no human hand manipulated the kej', and no 
human intelligence alone dictated the messages. For 
several hours I talked with Dr. Wells, Mr. Rowley's con- 
trol, on subjects unknown to the medium, receiving cor- 
rect answers in matters that Mr. Rowley could have had 
no knowledge of, and if I know anything from the evi- 
dence of my senses, Mr. Rowley did not and could not 
have moved the key enclosed in the box. A portion of 
the time he touched the outside of the box with a pen- 
holder at any place I directed, and the sounder worked as 
freely as one in an ordinary telegraph office. 

At one time during our interview, I was narrating to 
the gentlemen present my experience at Cassadaga Lake 
one year ago. I related to them the communication I 
received purporting to come from Henry Seybert, a pho- 
tograph copy of which I sent you with my former letter, 
and I repeated it as I understood it, to wit : " Sir, do all 
you can to combat the error into which my Commission- 
ers have fallen. They were unworthy and unfaithful. — 
Henry Seybert." 

While engaged in the conversation, the sounder was 
silent. Mr. R. was listening to me as if I was relating a 
matter new to him. He sat with a pen-holder in his hand, 
one end of which touched the box. When I came to the 
word "unfaithful" the sounder broke in upon my relation 
with most vehement raps. I paused and enquired, "What 
is the matter ? " when it immediately answered : — 

"You are wrong ! That word is untruthful" 

"Who says so?" I enquired. 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS* REPORT. 17 

The answer was: " Henry Seybert told me so. He 
says the word is untruthful." 

Now, gentlemen, I do not endorse the statement of the 
" unseen force " that operated the telegraph key. The in- 
nate evidence on the pages of your very able report of both 
its truth and candor would not justify me in believing that 
you were untruthful ; yet you know that this is a censo- 
rious world, and there are those who may think that as 
commissioners you did not "handle the truth with suffi- 
cient carefulness to meet the demands of veracity." 

" Only this — nothing more." 

During my conversation with the telegraph, the "un- 
seen force " informed me that it would be with me from 
time to time, and assist me in obtaining evidence of the 
truth of these phenomena ; and I here call your attention 
to the singular verification of this promise that occurred 
to me at Cassadaga Lake some six weeks after. 



My Experience at Lily Dale. — Experiment No. 1. 

In the month of August, 1888, I visited Lily Dale, as 
the Association ground is called. Before leaving home I 
had purchased a pair of hinged slates, through the frames 
of which I inserted a u staple bolt." I placed a small 
fragment of slate pencil between them and passed a pad- 
lock through the bolt, thus securely locking them together. 
At the hotel on the Association grounds I opened the 
slates to see that the pencil yet remained between them. 
I then visited several mediums on four consecutive days, 
but obtained no results : yet every medium informed me 
I would in a few days ; that their controls desired me to 
be patient, and in the end I would receive communications 
that would surprise and convince me. With the example 
of your worthy chairman in his patient endeavors to be- 



18 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF- 

come a medium before me, I determined to persevere, 
even though, as in his case, I might become a product of 
the " gooseberry." 

On a bright, sunn}- afternoon I visited Mr. Pierre Keeler 
at his cottage. The room was lighted by two windows, 
through which the sunlight passed unobstructed. I was 
seated at one side of a small plain table ; Mr. Keeler at 
the other ; the slates, securely locked, were between us, 
lying on the table. I had prepared five questions at my 
hotel ; these were closely folded up in such a manner that 
it was impossible for any one to read them. I took one 
of them in one hand, placing the others on top of the 
table. Mr. Keeler placed one of his hands on the end 
of the slates toward himself. We sat for some time, 
when he remarked : < ' My control says that there is no 
name on the paper in your hand ; that he does not know 
you, and does not know who 3 r ou want to communicate 
with." I opened the paper and found it true ; there was 
no name on it. I wrote the proper name, refolded it, and 
again held it in my hand for some minutes with no result, 
when Mr. Keeler remarked: "I think you will have to 
unlock the slates and let me pass my hand over their inner 
surface." Very unwillingly I took the key from my pocket 
and was about placing it in the lock, when Mr. Keeler 
hurriedly wrote on a slate by his side: "Let the lock 
alone. We will write as it is. Put all the questions on 
the slates. There is one here that wants to come." I 
returned the key to my pocket, and picking up the papers 
laid them on the centre of the slates, keeping my left 
hand on them all the time. Instantly I distinctly heard 
the pencil write a moment ; then it stopped. I unlocked 
the slates and found a short communication plainly written 
on the lower one. It was a complete answer to one of 
the interrogatories I had written, and signed by the well- 
known signature of the one to whom it was addressed. 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 19 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, there was no fraud, 
no magic, no deception in this experiment ; a power un- 
known to science had written an intelligent communication 
on the inside of two slates locked, together, under circum- 
stances that absolutely precluded even the suggestion of 
deception, or the trick of a magician. I have preserved 
these slates intact for your inspection if your desire to 
investigate has survived your late wonderful experience. 

Experiment No. 2. 

A lady residing in a city two hundred miles from Lily 
Dale had written me, sending two interrogatories ; one 
addressed to her mother, who had been dead over two 
years, and one to a friend who died recently. I placed 
the first interrogatory in my pocket-book, the other in my 
vest pocket, and visited Will. A. Mansfield, another well- 
known medium. I procured two well-cleaned slates, on 
one of which he placed a small piece of slate pencil. I 
covered this with the other, and securely bound them to- 
gether with a strong twine. A common table was between 
us. This was in daylight, in a well-lighted room. I laid 
the slates at my left hand, out of reach of the medium. 
We sat for some time with one interrogatory in my vest 
pocket, the other in my pocket-book. The medium had 
hold of my right hand across the table. In a few moments 
he let go of my hand, and, taking up a slate that was lean- 
ing against the wall by his side, commenced to write rap- 
idly thereon. In a moment he handed it to me, and I 
read on its surface a complete answer to the interrogatory 
in my vest pocket, which he had not seen. This was 
signed with the full name of the person to whom it was 
addressed. The name was an unusual one ; the first with 
two syllables, the second with one, and the third with two. 
The medium could not possibly have known the name of 



20 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

either the one to whom it was addressed, or the one who 
propounded the interrogatory. After this answer was 
received, while we were in conversation, the medium 
seemed to go into convulsions ; he arose to his feet while 
yet holding my right hand, and in tones of agony shouted : 
"Oh! oh ! ! oh ! ! ! Hold those slates out at arms-length ! 
Hold them out ! ! Hold them out ! ! ! " I did so, shaking 
them violently while I thus held them, and in less than 
fifteen seconds, he said, "There, it is done !" and releas- 
ing my hand, sank into a chair as if greatly exhausted. I 
opened the slates and found written on one of them a 
lengthy and complete answer to the question in my pocket- 
book, and signed with the full name of the mother of the 
lady who sent me the interrogatories. It was beautifully 
written and correctly punctuated. Gentlemen, there was 
no deceit in this. It was far beyond the common-place 
deceptions of itinerating showmen. It was a phenomenon 
worthy of your serious consideration and the exercise of 
your "trained habits of investigation." 

Experiment No. 3. 

The day after experiment No. 2, Aug. 7, 1888, 1 pro- 
cured two clean slates and visited Miss Lizzie Bangs. I 
prepared an interrogatory and placed it with a fragment 
of pencil between the slates, tied a string around them, 
and laid them on a table placed in the center of a well- 
lighted room, the windows and door being open. The 
medium was seated opposite me, the slates between us 
on the table ; they were not out of my sight one moment. 
I placed my hand on one end of the slates, Miss Bangs 
placing hers on the other end. We sat thus and con- 
versed for some time, I relating to her my experience 
with Mr. Eowley in Cleveland. Soon I heard a faint 
noise between the slates. It did not sound like writing, 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 21 

but more like the crawling of an insect imprisoned be- 
tween them ; in a few moments there came three distinct 
raps. I opened the slates and found two messages written 
in the Morse alphabet, one of them signed by the one to 
whom the interrogatory was directed, and who could not 
in this life read or write telegraphy ; the other by a promi- 
nent jurist who died a number of years ago. I made an 
appointment for another stance the next day, and procur- 
ing two new clean slates, I passed a screw through each 
end of the frames. At the appointed time I again visited 
the medium, Miss Lizzie Bangs. I opened the slates and 
permitted her to place a small piece of pencil between 
them ; then closing them I screwed them securely to- 
gether. I told the medium I desired that she should not 
touch the slates, and therefore I placed them under the 
table-cloth, yet holding them with my hands, firmly clasp- 
ing their sides. Miss Bangs laid her fingers lightly on 
the end of the slates, outside of the cloth. Very soon I 
heard the pencil write ; in a moment it ceased, and the 
medium picked up a slate of her own and wrote very 
rapidly the following: "Have partially written a mes- 
sage, will finish it at another time. George." I did not 
open the slates, but took them to my hotel room and 
locked them in my trunk. The next day I again visited 
the medium, placed the slates under the table-cloth, hold- 
ing them as before. Soon I heard a slight "ticking" 
sound beneath the cloth, and soon it ceased, and Miss 
Bangs wrote on her own slate the following : — 

"Have done much toward finishing the message, but 
will have to have one more sitting, the forces not being 
sufficient to conclude it. Do not open the slates, for we 
will surely give you that for which you are seeking and 
desire. Yours, George H. S." 

Again I took the slates to my hotel and locked them 
in my trunk. The next day I visited the medium and 



22 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

placed the slates as before. I waited patiently over a 
half an hour, heard no sound, when Miss Bangs again 
wrote on her slate: "We cannot write on the slates 
to-day, but will another time." I have said that the 
medium " wrote on her slate," etc. I mean by that, 
that she placed a slate on her lap, under the table, 
holding it with one hand, while the other remained on 
the cloth over the slates on the top of the table ; and 
although I watched her arm as closely as you state that 
you did the thumb of the medium, on page 21 of your 
admirable report, yet I did not see the least movement. 
You will observe, gentlemen, that I pursued your astute 
method of investigation, I observed what was going on 
above the table without regard to the mysterious phe- 
nomena transpiring beneath it. In fact, I did not care 
who wrote beneath the table ; I was only determined 
that there should be no fraud practised on my slates, 
which were securely fastened together with screws, as 
narrated, and held by me alone, on the top of the table. 

The next day I again visited the medium, and placed 
the slates as before. We sat nearly an hour. I became 
impatient ; but remembering the terrible ordeal your chair- 
man endured in his effort to become a medium, I imitated 
his Job-like patience, and continued the stance until I 
became satisfied that no result would be obtained that 
day, and made^another appointment. The next day I 
visited the medium, placed the slates as before. Each 
time I had carefully held them with the screw heads 
upward, and from the " slots" in the heads of the screws 
I had drawn a pencil mark on the frames, so that if the 
screws were turned without my knowledge I would observe 
it with a magnifying-glass, even if I could not see it with 
the naked eye. 

As soon as the medium placed her fingers over the end 
of the slates, I heard the pencil write most vigorously, 



REPORT. 23 

and so loudly that it could have been heard across the 
room. When the writing ceased, I opened the slates and 
was surprised to find on the lower slate a communication 
in Latin, and one in telegraphy, while the upper slate 
was filled with a communication signed Henry Seybert. 
I will have these slates photographed, and you will doubt- 
less observe the fact that the handwriting is the same as 
that on the slate obtained by me over a year ago through 
Mr. Keeler, a photograph of which I sent you at that time. 
Now, gentlemen, remember that these slates were kept 
under my surveillance the whole time of the experiments ; 
no hand but mine touched them, not even the medium's ; 
of this I am as certain as I am that I was at Lily Dale 
and conducted the test, and yet the communications were 
written by an inanimate fragment of stone, placed between 
two slates under such conditions as absolutely precluded 
the possibility of fraud, mistake, or deception. How 
was it done ? Does its explanation come within the scope 
of your trained habits of investigation? It will not do 
for you to simply deny it. The fact of the existence of 
like phenomena all over the civilized world has been 
proven by hundreds of witnesses as truthful and as com- 
petent to testify as to what they have seen as are the 
members of your Commission. You were appointed to 
investigate this subject ; you are paid for your labor by 
the munificent bequest of a Christian philanthropist who 
only desired that you should search for the truth, and 
when you had found it to honestly proclaim it to the 
world. Dare you do this? Remember that the interest 
of $60,000 for all time to come is by Henry Seybert's 
bequest to be appropriated to this and like investigations, 
and you cannot honestly permit it to be diverted from 
this purpose by the trustees of the University, by so 
shallow an investigation as is narrated in your " Goose- 
berry Report." Future generations will judge your con- 
duct with unswerving justice, and you will live or die 



24 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

on the pages of history as the just or unjust stewards 
of the sacred parable live to-day in the opinion of 
mankind. 

The Devil and the Preacher. 

There was another incident that occurred at Cassadaga 
Lake during the summer meeting of 1888 that is worthy 
of your attention. I was somewhat connected with it, 
yet not under either of the characters announced in the 
above head line. Several gentlemen of our city procured 
two slates, placed a pencil between them, fastened them 
together with four screws, covering the screw heads with 
sealing-wax, on which was impressed several seals in 
such a manner that they could not be opened without 
detection. I was requested to take the slates to Lily 
Dale, visit the mediums, and if possible obtain communi- 
cations on them with the seals unbroken. I took the 
slates as requested, but being called away from the camp- 
ground before I had tried the experiment, I left them 
with a gentleman well known in our city as a man of 
intelligence and integrity. He visited a medium with 
them before I left, and informed me that he thought he 
heard the pencil write, but that the communication was 
not completed. The medium confirmed this statement. 
When I returned home I informed the investigators who 
had prepared the slates what I had done and heard in 
relation to them. A day or two after an anonymous 
correspondent in one of our city papers informed the 
public of the facts above stated, at the same time, with 
a spirit that would eminently qualify him to act on the 
Seybert Commission, suggesting that if the slates were 
written upon, " it was thought by some to be a gigantic 
scheme to sell his [my] book." When I read it I most 
fully appreciated the generous wish of poor old Job, 
" Oh, that mine adversary had written a book ! " Never- 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONER S' REPORT. 25 

theless, the ''gigantic scheme" did not work. When 
the slates came home and were opened, there was no 
writing on them. Then I thought of what an eminent 
scientist once said, "That a good failure often proved 
as much as a successful experiment," and I was consoled. 
About the same time a similar test was prepared in a 
village near our city, an account of which I copy from 
a daily paper. 

" Slate "Writing Extraordinary. 

" Lily Dale, September 15, 1888. — Great interest has 
been awakened in this vicinity by a test experiment in 
the slate-writing phenomenon of Spiritualism. About 
two weeks ago Rev. J. T. Crumrine, a Presbyterian 
clergyman of Cochranton, Pa., came to the camp meet- 
ing, bringing with him a pair of slates which had been 
fastened together in the following manner : A screw was 
inserted in each corner of the slates, penetrating both 
frames where they are mortised together. Two screws 
were also inserted in each of the sides. The heads of 
the screws were sunk into the frames, and then covered 
with ordinary sealing-wax. Upon the wax were various 
impressions made by Mr. Crumrine and others, with seals, 
rings, and other articles. With the slates fastened in 
this manner Mr. Crumrine felt secure against imposture. 
He visited two or three mediums, but it was the busy 
season with them, and only one could give him an imme- 
diate appointment. Mr. Mansfield gave him an hour, and 
at the appointed time he was on hand with his slates. 
That afternoon, however, Mansfield was unusually detained 
by a stance with two ladies, and did not get ready for 
Mr. Crumrine until too late for that gentleman to try 
his experiment, as he was obliged to leave that day on 
the afternoon train. Anxious to have the experiment 
tried, Mr. Crumrine left the slates in charge of Mr. A. 



26 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

Gaston, of Meadville, Pa., who promised to hold a 
stance with Mansfield and report results. Mr. Gaston 
held three stances with Mansfield, the medium saying 
that this would be necessary in order to ' ' magnetize " 
the slates. At the third stance, which was held on 
Sunday afternoon, September 2, the medium declared 
that his familiar spirit told him if Gaston would take 
the slates to the auditorium, where a lecture was then 
progressing, and form a circle, an attempt would be 
made to write upon them. Accordingly Mr. Gaston 
took the slates to the auditorium, and at the close of 
the lecture a circle was formed on the stage and con- 
nection established by clasped hands with the audience. 
Two skeptics were called out of the audience to hold the 
slates between them. Mansfield clasped hands with two 
persons in the circle, two persons being between him and 
the slates on either side. After a few moments of sus- 
pense the medium began to writhe as if a powerful 
electric current were passing through his body. After 
one spasm had passed he called to the men who held 
the slates and told them to turn the slates over. When 
this was done, he experienced a second spasm or con- 
vulsion, and then told the people to break the circle. 
He declared that he thought a message had been written 
on the inner surface of the slates, but of course nobody 
could tell until the slates were opened. Mr. Gaston, 
who had charge of the slates, took them away to Coch- 
ranton, and the result is given below. A few days after 
his departure with the slates, Mr. Gaston wrote your 
correspondent as follows : — 

" The slate writing was a complete success. The Rev. J. T. 
Crumrine and other parties who helped seal the slates, examined 
them all and said the seals had not been tampered with, Mr. 
Crumrine saying that he would be willing to take his oath to 
that effect. One slate was filled lengthwise, and the other 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 27 

across the slate. Dr. Dunn and Mr. Fuller, of Cochranton, 
helped to seal the slates, and were present when the slates were 
opened. C. A. Bell, editor of the Cochranton Times, and James 
Reid, of Cochranton, were also present when the slates were 
unscrewed. 

" The following is a copy of the message found on the 
slates : — 

" Mr. Gaston, Mr. Crumrine, and some few other persons 
will be surprised at the opening of these slates, and we regret 
very much that the owner of the above named did not remain 
in camp long enough to fill his engagements with Mr. Mansfield, 
because had he filled it, he would have received messages from 
his own friends, and now it is impossible for us to get them 
here because he is so far away. If he will investigate in the 
right way he will soon find that his friends can write to him, 
and that this is not, nor never was, a devil. 



" The communication was signed t Thomas Vreeland,' 
and the allusion in the last sentence was to the theory 
which the Reverend Crumrine entertains in regard to the 
source of spiritualistic phenomena. "Wishing to obtain 
a sworn affidavit to the facts as set forth above, your 
correspondent forwarded to Mr. Gaston a short state- 
ment, requesting him if possible to obtain the signature 
of Reverend Crumrine in the presence of a notary pub- 
lic. In response to this request the following letter was 
received from Mr. Gaston : — 

" Crumrine would not subscribe to any statement. He holds 
that it is a fact that the communication came as claimed, but 
still holds to the diabolical origin, and does not want to have 
any hand in the spread of the doctrine. While he exhibits the 
slates and admits the fact, and will in his lecture, still he will 
then have opportunity to explain his theory as to cause, etc. 

" Mr. Mansfield has just received the following letter 
from Cochranton: — 



28 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OP 

"Dear Sir, — You are aware ere this of the success with the 
test slates which I carried to Cassadaga, and to you through 
Mr. Gaston. The communication was signed by Thomas Vree- 
land. Do you know Mr. Vreeland, or any one who does? I do 
not know him. Where did he live and when? 

Yours, etc., J. T. Crumrine. 

"To review the facts in this remarkable experiment it 
may be summarized thus : Two slates were fastened 
together in such a way that it would be impossible to 
produce even a scratch upon their inner surface without 
disturbing the seals. The persons who fastened the 
slates together declare the seals had not been disturbed, 
and that an intelligent communication was found within 
the slates when they were opened. How did the writing 
get there? Certainly not by the agency of human fin- 
gers, or other physical means. The Reverend Crumrine 
believes it was the devil that wrote the message. Other 
people believe a disembodied spirit who once lived on 
earth did the writing. ' Let every man be fully per- 
suaded in his own mind.' We read that on a certain 
occasion, when King Belshazzar was feasting with his 
thousand lords and their ladies in the royal palace, a 
man's hand appeared and wrote upon the ceiling certain 
ominous words. Are there hidden hands still writing 
messages for mortal eyes? Grapho." 



In answering the above communication, the Reverend 
Crumrine admits the phenomenon — he could not do other- 
wise. The slates were sealed in Cochranton, Pa., taken to 
Lily Dale, returned with the seals unbroken, and yet con- 
taining on their inner surface a long communication writ- 
ten under such circumstances and conditions as absolutely 
negatives your conclusion as recorded on page 8 of your 
report; i.e., "That the long messages are prepared by 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 29 

the medium before the stance ; the short ones are written 
under the table, with what skill practice can confer," etc. 
In a newspaper article the reverend investigator said, 
" . . . I have been studying this subject for nearly eight 
years, and have accumulated about one-third of a hundred 
reasons for thinking it to be the devil, but I will not spoil 
my lecture by stating them here. I will state them in 
full in the U. P. Church in Cochranton, next Thursday 
evening. — J. T. Crumrine." 

Now, gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, I know 
the Reverend Crumrine well. He is an educated Christian 
minister, possessing more than ordinary intellectual capac- 
ity, such as it is. He has investigated Spiritualism for eight 
long and weary years, and he has seen positive proof of 
the phenomena that you attribute to magic or legerdemain. 
He has the honesty to admit it, and attribute it to the 
devil, and of course a disembodied spirit. Now compare 
your puny investigations with his ; your sage conclusions 
with his profound deductions ; yea, compare his eight 
years' labor with the agonizing experience of your chair- 
man, who for six long weeks wore a piece of Caffray's 
flypaper on his head, and who says that his " withers are 
unwrung" by his efforts. Do all this, and then bow 
your heads in well-merited confusion before this reverend 
teacher of orthodox Christianity, who has solved the 
problem you could not unravel, and who has proved to 
his own satisfaction that it is not the work of a magician, 
but of the devil. 

Gentlemen, the Reverend Crumrine is learned in biblical 
lore, and from his long investigation of Spiritualism is 
most likely better informed on the subject than the mem- 
bers of your Commission can be. It is probable that he 
knows as much of spiritual philosophy as any man that 
ever lived who did not know more than he does. Is not, 



30 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

then, his testimony as to the existence of the phenomena 
worthy of your profound consideration? Is it possible 
that the magicians of whom you purchased the secrets of 
spirit phenomena deceived 30U ? or did they agree with the 
Reverend Crumrine that it is all of satanic origin? and is 
that the reason why you refuse to give the public what 
you purchased with a portion of the Seybert bequest? 
But the fact is proven. The phenomena exist. No 
human force known to science could have written the com- 
munication between the sealed slates, and whether it be 
the work of demons or spirits, is, under the present evi- 
dence of the case, the only question yet unsolved. You, 
gentlemen, are paid to seek for its solution. Dare you 
honestly perform the duties you have assumed? You 
should have no fears of the malign influence that wrote 
on the slates. Remember 'tis the wicked that flee, etc. 
The righteous should emulate the king of the jungle. 
"Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James iv. 7. 
The law of evolution is a fact now denied only by the 
ignorant or unlearned. Scientists differ as to the extent 
of the application of this law, it is true, yet its funda- 
mental principles are admitted by the learning of the 
world. Under the influence of that law man has pro- 
gressed from savagery to barbarism, from barbarism to 
civilization, and from thence to Christian enlightenment. 
The taste and skill that first decorated the rude garments 
of early man with gaudy colors, was but the embryo of 
that genius that spread the beautiful frescoes of Michael 
Angelo. The rude huts of early savagery were the off- 
spring of the same constructive skill that now erects the 
palace and cathedral. The law of evolution from a lower 
to a higher life is as fixed and certain in its operations as 
the law of gravity or chemical affinity. As with the 
plrysical condition of men, so it is with the mental and 
moral. There was a time in the history of our race, even 



EEPORT. 31 

within the Christian era, when the tiara thought for the 
mitre, the mitre for the cassock, and the cassock for the 
people. That time is past, and men, developed by educa- 
tion, now think for themselves. The myth of demons 
and devils belongs to the ignorant past, and the followers 
of the Saviour now serve him through love, not fear. 
The green earth and its landscapes, the hue and perfume 
of flowers, the songs of birds, and the affections of man- 
kind, all prove to the thinking mind that love governs the 
universe as well as the destinies of our race ; and the 
man whose morbid mental condition leads him to see 
demons and devils in ambush along the pathways of our 
race is truly an object of pity or contempt, as he may 
be viewed from the different standpoints of human life 
and experience. The beautiful philosophy of Spiritualism 
teaches no such doctrine, no imaginary horrors stain the 
white pages of its cheering creed ; it makes no war on 
the enlightened religious belief of to-day, but only seeks 
to prove the truth of the fundamental principles of Chris- 
tianity by demonstrating that which hope prays for and 
faith believes, yet is not certain of. 

It is a fact lamented by both religious press and pulpit 
that infidelity is increasing in the world. A doubt of the 
existence of a future life clouds the mental horizon of 
many a thinking mind. Men cannot believe what they 
wish to, but what is proven to them, and that they cannot 
resist, if they would. Science is the executioner of 
dogmas and creeds, and in man's advancement on the 
pathway of evolution, that which satisfied the ignorant 
past is rejected by education and enlightenment. May it 
not be, then, that a Creator whose love is evidenced by 
every pleasurable emotion of the human mind, is now in 
accordance with his great law of evolution, giving to 
doubting men the demonstrative evidence of a future 
life, and teaching him by spirit visitations " that if a 



32 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

man die he shall live again" ? Verily, " 'tis a consumma- 
tion devoutly to be wish'd." 

Remember, gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, all 
men cannot look upon death as the end of life as compla- 
cently as you do ; but few men can take pleasure in the 
infidel thoughts you have promulgated in your report ; 
few thinking minds can with pleasure believe, as your 
chairman does, that — 

"We are such stuff 
As dreams are made on, and our little life 
Is rounded with a sleep." 

The truly Christian mind longs for immortality, and 
spiritual philosophy and phenomena afford the only posi- 
tive evidence that all men can accept of its existence. If 
Spiritualism be true, 

" There's a land that is fairer than this," 

and death and the grave are but the portals to a future 
life. Gentlemen , I would much rather believe with the Rev- 
erend Crumrine that spiritual phenomena are demoniacal 
in their origin, and that devils are sent all over the earth to 
convert infidels and prove the truth of spiritual existence, 
than adopt your cold, horrible belief in utter annihilation. 
Yes ! yes ! I sincerely wish that millions of such spirits 
as the good preacher believes in were sent all over the 
earth on their holy mission of proving a spirit life, and 
hereafter I may be led to believe that "his satanic majesty 
is not so black as he is usually painted." 

Gentlemen, in conclusion, let me beg of you to continue 
your able investigations, and if in the end you shall ascer- 
tain that you were in the wrong, and that the preacher is 
right ; that it is not magic, but the work and presence of 
the " evil one," do not, I pray 3-ou, conceal the fact from 
the world, but "'tell the truth and shame the devil." 

Respectfully yours, 
Meadville, Pa. A. B. Richmond. 



REPORT. 33 



THAT LECTURE." 



" Ev'n ministers, they hae been kenn'd 
In holy rapture 
A rousing whid at times to rend, 

And nail't wi' Scripture." — Buens. 

Gentlemen, — Since I wrote the foregoing open letters 
to you the Reverend Crumrine has delivered his lecture. 
He admitted the fact that the slates were securely sealed 
with two kinds of wax and several seals. That in addition 
to that, he, with several others, had placed private marks 
on the slates, inside and out, in such a manner that they 
could not have been opened without detection. That 
they were not opened before they were returned to Coch- . 
ranton, is a fact beyond dispute ; the reverend investiga- 
tor's lecture shows that conclusively ; for had the slates 
been tampered with, the solution of the mystery would 
have been easy. Of course the fact would have been 
announced in the public print as the trick of a magician, 
and the king of the realms below would have escaped the 
slanderous imputations displayed so prominently on the 
"show bills" of the good minister, and reiterated in his 
lecture. 

I did not hear him ; unfortunately, circumstances over 
which I had no control prevented my attending the per- 
formance, and I am only able to give you a synopsis of it 
from hearsay, and by copying one of the notices that were 
posted along the streets of the village and the public high- 
wa} r s leading thereto. Remember, gentlemen, that the 
Reverend Crumrine is an educated orthodox minister, and 
of course speaks ex cathedra on the subject. He believes 
in a devil, and I have no doubt of his honestj^. In fact, 
I have known many men who were honest because of that 
belief, who faithfully served one Master because they 
feared the other. He is as competent a witness as the 
members of your Commission, and as confident that he 



34 ADDENDUM. 

has found the key that unlocks the mystery of spirit man- 
ifestations as you are. He has the honesty to give the 
public the secrets he has discovered, while you conceal 
with suspicious care those you purchased during your 
investigation. He cannot possibly have any mercenary 
motives in what he says and does. Of course his " 25 
cents admission for adults, and 10 cents for children 
under fifteen years of age," is not to be taken into con- 
sideration any more than the royalty you probably receive 
on your comprehensive report. Is it not evident then to 
the unbiased observer that this whole mystery is resolved 
into a simple question of credibility and capacity between 
this worthy minister of the Gospel and your honorable 
body ? But as he has given the result of his researches 
to the world, and has told an interested public " how it is 
all done," and as you know but will not tell, I am afraid 
that your numbers and respectability will not be an offset 
to his candor, and that your testimony may not receive 
the consideration it deserves. 

I believe, gentlemen, that if you will carefully read the 
reverend's " show bill," you will be aroused to a sense of 
your duty by the alternative he presents ; that his state- 
ment of the fell purposes of Spiritualism, with the char- 
acter of " the power behind the throne," will inspire you 
with renewed energy to continue your able investigation, 
and the result will be that the interest of the Seybert be- 
quest will eventually be invested in accordance with the 
principles of common honesty and the last wishes of the 
generous donor. You may ignore the press notices of 
your dereliction, the efforts of my feeble pen may have no 
effect upon you, a cauterized conscience may lose its sen- 
sibility, but remember, if the preacher tells the truth, it 
was the grizzly king of the regions below that accused 
you of being unworthy and untruthful in your investiga- 
tion, and that 

Facilis est descensus Averni ! 



LECTURE! 

SPIRITUALISM AND THE DEVIL; 

-EOr, the Hand of Satan in Spiritualism,E- 

By REV. J. T. CRUMRINE. 

Mr. Crumrine has spent years investigating this subject; 
has gathered information of the most reliable sort; has 
valuable testimony from some of the brightest stars in the 
intellectual heavens ; has subjected Spiritualism to the 
most crucial test, wherein it was impossible to perpetrate 
fraud. He has studied their ablest works, both from a 
secular and a religious standpoint; has conferred with 
some of the ablest sleight-of-hand performers in regard to 
these matters, and from what he can learn from all these 
sources, and from the teachings of Blackstone, and Sheak- 
speare, and Moses, and Christ, he is convinced that unless 
the world gets hold of the right key to unlock the mys- 
tery of Spiritualism, it will sweep everything before it. 
He believes he has found that key. There are only two 
ways to avoid being a Spiritualist ; one is to use this key, 
the other is to shut your eyes ; but thinkers will not shut 
their eyes. 

Spiritualism proposes not only to go into the Church 
and break it down, but to go into the government and 
make its laws and rule its people. It is time the world 
understood the origin of this religion, and the power be- 
hind the throne. Do not fail to hear this lecture, which 
will be delivered 

In U. P. Church, Cochranton On Thursday Evening, 
September 20, 1888 At 8 O'clock. 

Admission, Adults, 25 cts., Children under fifteen, 10 cts. 



36 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

Gentlemen, the lecture was delivered, and I am glad to 
be able to state that the Reverend Crumrine is now con- 
valescent. He showed the sealed slates to his audience, 
and stated that the seals were unbroken ; that the writing 
on them was not the work of a magician, but of the Devil. 
To prove this theory he quoted many, passages from the 
book I called your attention to in my former review, and 
which I trust you have perused since then. He entirely 
confuted your theory of magic, and ignored your infidel 
sentiments as to a future life ; and while he " rendered 
unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's," yet in the 
honesty of his heart he gave " the Devil his due." I am 
also informed that in his lecture, his logic rivaled that of 
Sir Hudibras, who, if his biographer be truthful, — 

" — could distinguish and divide 
A hair 'twixt south and southwest side : 
On either which he would dispute, 
Confute, change hands, and still confute." 

And that with the learning of Gamaliel, the eloquence 
of Sam Jones, and the charity. of Cotton Mather, he 
demonstrated the error of your report and the truth of 
his theory that it was Diabolus, and clearly proved 

"With old odd ends, stol'n out of holy writ, 
That he seemed a saint, when most he played the Devil." 

Gentlemen, it is needless to say that the reverend's 
lecture created a profound sensation. Before it was de- 
livered all of the good orthodox citizens who are opposed 
to demonstrative evidence of the truth of the fundamental 
principle of their creeds had accepted your report as a 
truthful expose of the phenomena of Spiritualism. But it 
is different now. Both sides have their earnest advocates 
and believers. Some yet support the Seybert Commis- 
sion, many sustain Diabolus, while there is a very large 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 37 

class of thinking minds that don't seem to care which of 
the two contending parties shall win the battle. But I 
assure you, gentlemen, that you have my sympathy. I 
am so mentally constituted that I can say with the poet, — 

"But for me — and I care not a single fig 
If they say I am wrong or am right — 
I shall always go for the weaker dog, 
For the under dog in a fight. 

" I know that the world, that the great big world, 
Will never a moment stop 
To see which dog may be in the fault, 
But will shout for the dog on top. 

" But for me, I shall never pause to ask 
Which dog may be in the right, 
For my heart will beat, while it beats at all, 
For the under dog in the fight." 

I am informed, gentlemen, that that lecture made many 
converts to its enlightened theories, and that there was 
not a person in the vast audience who was admitted into 
the U. P. Church on a second-class ticket but believed 
as the lecturer did, and that all the school children within 
the sphere of influence of that lecture, as they pass along 
the rural highways, in their excited fancy see a cloven 
hoof peep from every bunch of brake or briers, or a pair 
of horns project from every field of buckwheat. 

Gentlemen, if it shall come to pass in future years that 
the second sober thought of mankind will sustain the 
Reverend Crumrine, and that, while you failed in your 
researches, he has, as he asserts, actually found the key 
that unlocks the great mystery, and that to him alone 
belongs the honor justly due to a first discoverer, let no 
heart-burnings disturb your mental quiet ; but remember 
that " your loss is his eternal gain," and console yourselves 



38 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

with the philosophy embodied in a physical fact discov- 
ered by old Dogberry, a philosopher of Shakespeare's 
time, that when 

" Two men ride of a horse, one must ride behind." 

The Preacher and the Showman. 

" Pray, goody, please to moderate the rancour of your tongue; 
Remember, when the judgment is weak, the prejudice is 
strong." 

Kane O'Hara, Midas. 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, I think it my 
duty to inform you that in the immediate vicinity of Cas- 
sadaga Lake there are a few eminent men who sustain 
your theory of the cause of so-called spirit phenomena. 
As a noted example I am reminded that last winter an 
itinerating showman, one Professor * gave what he called 
a lecture and expose* of Spiritualism in Corry, Pa. His 
exhibition was of the most commonplace character, his 
feats of legerdemain far below the standard of the ten- 
cent side-shows, and his lecture a tirade of vulgarity and 
falsehood. Yet when the twinkling rays of this * fell 
upon the head of a reverend gentleman of that city, like 
Paul, he was converted, and straightway endorsed the 
showman in the newspapers in the following glowing 
paragraph, which * has copied on his hand- 
bills:— 

" Professor Starr and wife justly won the esteem and 
gratitude of every Christian man and woman in Corry. I 
have been investigating Spiritualism for more than twenty- 
five years, during which time I have witnessed the phe- 
nomena produced by many mediums of national repute ; 
and I must say that Professor Starr and wife do their 
tests superior to any medium I ever saw, and they also 
explained it. The Starrs are pre-eminently qualified and 



39 

called of God to this work, and I hereby give them my 
unreserved endorsement and God speed. 

"W. L. RlLEY, 

" Pastor First Congregational Church.'* 

I am well aware, gentlemen, that in the Rev. W. L. 
Riley, Pastor, etc., you have an able supporter ; and yet 
it took him more than twenty-five years to discover the 
mysteries of a showman's tricks, so sillily simple that 
they are known to nearly every boot-black and gallery 
critic in our cities. How deep and profound must have 
been his investigations, how " well-trained his habits of 
investigation," when a penny showman could deceive him 
with the cheap jugglery of the side-show ! And yet this 
Christian minister unblushingly asserts that these phe- 
nomena, that have been thought worthy of investigation 
by the ablest scientists in the world, and have defied 
their skill and learning in their solution, have all been 
explained by an ignorant and vulgar showman ; and with 
an arrogance unworthy of his divine calling, and in 
words that are almost blasphemous, he assumes to voice 
the divine will in bidding a mountebank "God speed"! 
It were well for this Christian minister to remember, that 
while bigotry can murder true religion, yet ignorant 
assertion cannot kill a physical fact. 

" O wad some power the giftie gie us 
To see oursels as others see us ! 
It wad fra mony a blunder free us, 

And foolish notion ; 
What airs in dress an gait wad lea'e us, 

And ev'n devotion ! " 

Jt does not seem possible that any person of ordinary 
information could doubt the existence of so-called spiritual 
phenomena. "What they are, or from whence comes this 



40 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

mysterious power, is to me an unsolved problem. The evi- 
dence of an unseen intelligent force around us is as clear 
and conclusive as is that of the miracles performed by the 
Saviour and his disciples. Ignorance may chatter, and 
bigotry rail with arrogant tongue against it, but it will 
continue to demand honest and candid investigation until 
its just claims are satisfied. 

Gentlemen, permit me to call your attention to what is 
said of psychical phenomena by some of the ablest scien- 
tists of the world. You cannot honestly ignore their tes- 
timony, neither can you, in view of their evidence, satisfy 
the world that your duties as commissioners are ended. 

What is Said of Psychical Phenomena. 

J. H. Fichte, the German Philosopher and Author. — "Not- 
withstanding my age (83) and my exemption from the contro- 
versies of the day, I feel it my duty to bear testimony to the 
great fact of Spiritualism. No one should keep silent." 

Professor de Morgan, President of the Mathematical Society of 
London. — "lam perfectly convinced that I have both seen and 
heard, in a manner which should make unbelief impossible, 
things called spiritual, which cannot be taken by a rational 
being to be capable of explanation by imposture, coincidence, or 
mistake. So far I feel the ground firm under me." 

Dr. Robert Chambers. — " I have for many years known that 
these phenomena are real, as distinguished from impostures, and 
it is not of yesterday that I concluded they were calculated to 
explain much that has been doubtful in the past; and when 
fully accepted, revolutionize the whole frame of human opinion 
on many important matters." — [Extract from a Letter to A. 
Russel Wallace.] 

Professor Bare, Emeritus Professor of Chemistry in The Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania. — " Far from abating my confidence in 
the inferences respecting the agencies of the spirits of deceased 
mortals, in the manifestations of which I have given an account 
in my work, I have, within the last nine months [this was 
written in 1858], had more striking evidences of that agency 
than those given in the work in question." [See page 136 of my 
first book.] 



REPORT. 41 

Professor Challis, the late Plumerian Professor of Astronomy of 
Cambridge. — "I have been unable to resist the large amount of 
testimony to such facts, which have come from many independ- 
ent sources, and from a vast number of witnesses. ... In short, 
the testimony has been so abundant and consentaneous, that 
either the facts must be admitted to be such as are reported, or 
the possibility of certifying facts by human testimony must be 
given up." — [Clerical Journal, June, 1862.] 

Professors Tornebom and Edland, the Swedish Physicists. — 
' ' Only those deny the reality of spirit phenomena who have 
never examined them, but profound study alone can explain 
them. We do not know where we may be led by the discovery 
of the cause of these, as it seems, trivial occurrences, or to what 
new spheres of Nature's kingdom they may open the way ; but 
that they will bring forward important results is already made 
clear to us by the revelations of natural history in all ages." — 
[Aftonblad (Stockholm), Oct. 30, 1879. 

Professor Gregory, F.R.S.E. — " The essential question is this : 
What are the proofs of the agency of departed spirits? Al- 
though I cannot say that I yet feel the sure and firm conviction 
on this point which I feel on some others, I am bound to say 
that the higher phenomena, recorded by so many truthful and 
honorable men, appear to me to render the spiritual hypothesis 
almost certain. ... I believe that if I could myself see the 
higher phenomena alluded to I should be satisfied, as are all 
those who have had the best means of judging the truth of the 
spiritual theory." 

Lord Brougham. — " There is but one question I would ask the 
author : Is the Spiritualism of this work foreign to our materi- 
alistic, manufacturing age? No; for amidst the varieties of 
mind whieh divers circumstances produce are found those who 
cultivate man's highest faculties ; to those the author addresses 
himself. But even in the most cloudless skies of skepticism I 
see a rain-cloud, if it be no bigger than a man's hand; it is 
Modern Spiritualism." — [Preface by Lord Brougham to The 
Book of Nature. By C. O. Groom Napier, F.C.S.] 

The London Dialectical Committee reported: "1. That sounds 
of a very varied character, apparently proceeding from articles 
of furniture, the floor and walls of the room — the vibrations 
accompanying which sounds are often distinctly perceptible to 
the touch — occur, without being produced by muscular action 



42 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

or mechanical contrivance. 2. That movements of heavy bodies 
take place without mechanical contrivance of any kind, or ade- 
quate exertion of muscular force on those present, and fre- 
quently without contact or connection with any person. 3. 
That these sounds and movements often occur at the time and 
in the manner asked for by persons present, and by means of a 
simple code of signals, answer questions and spell out coherent 
communications." [See page 151 of my first book for a full 
account of this report.] 

Cromwell F. Varley, F.B.S. — "Twenty-five years ago I was 
a hard-headed unbeliever. . . . Spiritual phenomena, however, 
suddenly and quite unexpectedly, were soon after developed in 
my own family. . . . This led me to enquire and to try numerous 
experiments in such a way as to preclude as much as circum- 
stances would permit, the possibility of trickery and self-decep- 
tion. ..." He then details various phases of the phenomena 
which had come within the range of his personal experience, 
and continues : " Other and numerous phenomena have occurred, 
proving the existence (a) of forces unknown to science ; (6) the 
power of instantly reading my thoughts ; (c) the presence of 
some intelligence or intelligences controlling those powers. . . . 
That the phenomena occur there is overwhelming evidence, and 
it is too late now to deny their existence." 

Camille Flammarion, the French Astronomer, and Member of 
the Academie Francaise. — " I do not hesitate to affirm my con- 
victions, based on personal examination of the subject, that any 
scientific man who declares the phenomena denominated ' mag- 
netic,' ' somnambulic,' • mediumic,' and others not yet explained 
by science to be < impossible,' is one who speaks without know- 
ing what he is talking about; and also any man accustomed, 
by his professional avocations, to scientific observation — pro- 
vided that his mind be not biased by preconceived opinions, 
nor his mental vision blinded by that opposite kind of illusion 
unhappily too common in the learned world, which consists in 
imagining that the laws of nature are already known to us, and 
that everything which appears to overstep the limit of our pres- 
ent formulas is impossible — may acquire a radical and absolute 
certainty of the reality of the facts alluded to." 

Alfred Russel Wallace, F.G.S. — "My position, therefore, is 
that the phenomena of Spiritualism in their entirety do not re- 
quire further confirmation. They are proved, quite as well as 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 43 

any facts are proved in other sciences, and it is not denial or 
quibbling that can disprove any of them, but only fresh facts 
and accurate deductions from those facts. When the opponents 
of Spiritualism can give a record of their researches approach- 
ing in duration and completeness to those of its advocates ; and 
when they can discover and show in detail, either how the phe- 
nomena are produced or how the many sane and able men here 
referred to have been deluded into a coincident belief that they 
have witnessed them ; and when they can prove the correctness 
of their theory by producing a like belief in a body of equally 
sane and able unbelievers — then, and not till then, will it be 
necessary for Spiritualists to produce fresh confirmation of 
facts which are, and always have been, sufficiently real and in- 
disputable to satisfy any honest and persevering enquirer. — 
[Miracles and Modern Spiritualism. ~\ 

Dr. Lockkart Robertson. — "The writer [i.e. Dr. L. Robert- 
son] can now no more doubt the physical manifestations of 
so-called Spiritualism than he would any other fact, as, for 
example, the fall of the apple to the ground, of which his senses 
informed him. As stated above, there was no place or chance 
of any legerdemain or fraud in these physical manifestations. 
He is aware, even from recent experience, of the impossibility 
of convincing any one, by a mere narrative of events apparently 
so out of harmony with all our knowledge of the laws which 
govern the physical world, and he places these facts on record 
rather as an act of justice due to those whose similar statements 
he had elsewhere doubted and denied, than with either the desire 
or hope of convincing others. Yet he cannot doubt the ultimate 
recognition of facts of the truth of which he is so thoroughly 
convinced. Admit these physical manifestations, and a strange 
and wide world of research is opened to our enquiry. This field 
is new to the materialist mind of the last two centuries, which 
even in the writings of divines of the English Church, doubts 
and denies all spiritual manifestations and agencies, be they 
good or evil." — [From a letter by Dr. Lockhart Robertson, pub- 
lished in the Dialectical Society's Report on Spiritualism, p. 24.] 

Nassau William Senior. — " No one can doubt that phenomena 
like these [Phrenology, Homoeopathy and Mesmerism] deserve 
to be observed, recorded, and arranged; and whether we call it 
by the name of Mesmerism, or by any other name, the science 
which proposes to do this is a mere question of nomenclature. 



44 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

Among those who profess this science there may be careless 
observers, prejudiced recorders, and rash systematizers ; their 
errors and defects may impede the progress of knowledge, but 
they will not stop it. And we have no doubt that, before the 
end of this century, the. wonders which perplex equally those 
who accept and those who reject modern mesmerism will be 
distributed into denned classes, and found subject to ascertained 
laws — in other words, will become the subjects of a science." 
These views will prepare us for the following statement, made 
in the Spiritual Magazine, 1864, p. 386 : " We have only to add, 
as a further tribute to the attainments and honors of Mr. Senior, 
that he was by long enquiry and experience a firm believer in 
spiritual power and manifestations. Mr. Home was his frequent 
guest, and Mr. Senior made no secret of his belief among his 
friends. He it was who recommended the publication of Mr. 
Home's recent work by Messrs. Longmans, and he authorized 
the publication, under initials, of one of the striking incidents 
there given, which happened to a near and dear member of his 
family." 

Baron Carl du Prel (Munich) , in Nord und Slid. — " One thing 
is clear; that is, that psychography must be ascribed to a tran- 
scendental origin. We shall find : (1) That the hypothesis of 
prepared slates is inadmissible. (2) The place on which the 
writing is found is quite inaccessible to the hands of the medium. 
In some cases the double slate is securely locked, leaving only 
room inside for the tiny morsel of slate pencil. (3) That the 
writing is actually done at the time. (4) That the medium is 
not writing. (5) The writing must be actually done with the 
morsel of slate or lead pencil. (6) The writing is done by an 
intelligent being, since the answers are exactly pertinent to the 
questions. (7) This being can read, write, and understand the 
language of human beings, frequently such as is unknown to 
the medium. (8) It strongly resembles a human being, as well 
in the degree of its intelligence as in the mistakes sometimes 
made. These beings are, therefore, although invisible, of human 
nature or species. It is no use whatever to fight against this 
proposition. (9) If these beings speak, they do so in human 
language. (10) If they are asked who they are, they answer 
that they are beings who have left this world. (11) When these 
appearances become partly visible, perhaps only their hands, the 
hands seen are of human form. (12) When these things become 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. * 45 

entirely visible, they show the human form and countenance. . . . 
Spiritualism must be investigated by science. I should look 
upon myself as a coward if I did not openly express my convic- 
tions." 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, I have quoted 
the opinions of a few men out of many who are known 
to the scientific world, who have endorsed the veritable 
occurrence of these phenomena. Compared with their 
learned and candid utterances, how shallow and disin- 
genuous seems your report ! how excessively silly the 
pronunciamento of W. L. Riley, pastor of the First Con- 
gregational Church, and convert of the little * ! Do you 
really believe, gentlemen, that the recent absurd " toe- 
joint " expose* of the so-called spirit rappings in New 
York City will satisfactorily explain all the phenomena 
these learned scientists have witnessed and investigated ? 
You know you do not ; and if you should say that you did, 
the world would either justify the accusation against you 
apparently made by the spirit of Henry Seybert, or believe 
that you were fit subjects for the sanitary conditions of 
those public institutions in our land where mental infirmi- 
ties are scientifically treated, even when there is but little 
hope of the patient's recovery. 



46 



ADDENDUM TO THE KEVIEW OE 



/C/V-c*^ 6Ca-c/ 









This communication was received one year after the one shown at 
page 30 of my first book, and through another medium. Compare 
the signatures. Author. 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 47 



CHAPTER II. 

MAGIC AND MANIFESTATIONS. 

" With yellings dire they filPd the place, 
And hideous pale was either' s face. 
Soon with their nails they scrap 'd the ground, 
And fill'd a magic trench profound 
With a black lamb's thick streaming gore, 
Whose members with their teeth they tore; 
That they might charm the sprights to tell 
Some curious anecdotes from Hell." 

Francis. 

Says an ancient writer, " The origin of Magic and the 
Magi has been ascribed to Zoroaster. Salmasius derives 
the very name from Zoroaster, who, he says, was surnarned 
Mog, whence Magus and Magic. Some authors say he 
was only the restorer and improver thereof, alleging that 
many of the rites among the Persian Magi were borrowed 
from the Zabii among the Chaldeans." Be that as it may, 
magic was once considered a science worthy of the study 
of the learned philosophers of past ages, who little imag- 
ined that the time would ever come when it would by 
degeneration become a part of the programme of a "pig 
show" and "professor * performance." Alas! alas! to 
what ignoble ends do. advancing centuries consign the 
learning of the past. 

Magic, in a more modern sense, is a science which 
teaches to produce wonderful and surprising effects — 
such, for instance, as when a toe-joint becomes a ventril- 
oquist and produces loud-sounding "raps" in every part 
of a large auditorium where a suitable electro- magnetic 
device can be concealed and operated by a confederate 



48 ADDENDUM TO THE KEVIEW OF 

showman, in financial and electric conjunction with the 
owner of the magic toe. 

In ancient times there was a kind of magic called 
" Geotic" which an ancient writer describes as follows : 
"It consists in the invocation of devils. Its effects are 
usually evil and wicked, though very strange, and fre- 
quently seemingly surpassing the powers of nature ; sup- 
posed to be produced by virtue of some compact, either 
tacit or express, with evil spirits." This was the Crumri- 
nian theoty of long ages ago, now so recently revived in 
Cochranton, Pa., and which when lately published by an 
eminent divine, shook the civilized world with a paroxysm 
of — cachinnation. The same eminent writer continues: 
"These superstitious notions spread from Egypt all over 
the East. The Jews imbibed them during their captivity 
in Babylon. Hence we find them in the writings of the 
New Testament, attributing almost every disease to the 
immediate agency of devils." This author further remarks, 
with the naivete of a Crumrine, "That there are different 
orders of created spirits, — whether called demons or 
angels, — whose powers, intellectual and active, greatly 
surpass the powers of mankind, reason makes probable 
and revelation certain." 

You will observe, Gentlemen of the Seybert Commis- 
sion, that the reverend divine of Cochranton has very old 
authority to sustain him in his position, and he should by 
all means be added to your Commission, if for no other 
purpose than that of pointing your attention in a direction 
evidently not thought of by you in your former investiga- 
tion ; and if you will excuse a humble seeker after truth 
for making further suggestions, I would submit to your 
consideration the propriety of adding the proprietor of 
the erratic pedal extremity to j r our number. If you could 
leave the proprietor out and only adopt her toe, of course 
it would be much better for manifest reasons, yet circum- 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 49 

stances might justify a more liberal course. You cannot 
fail to observe that a combination of the Reverend Crum- 
rine, Mrs. Kane, and the Seybert Commission would be- 
come a power in the land for its enlightenment. It is true 
that that combination would involve three antagonistic 
theories, i.e. "Legerdemain, the Toe-joint, and the Devil" ; 
yet with the example of Midshipman Easy's historic tri- 
angular duel before us, I do not apprehend any serious 
consequences to you from such a conjunction of sympa- 
thetic elements. 

The ancient Magi certainly did perform some wonderful 
feats, as we read in Chap. vii. 10, 11, and 12 of Exodus, 
— in the book I called your attention to in my former 
review, — that 

" 10. Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so 
as the Lord had commanded ; and Aaron cast down his rod before 
Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. 

"11. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers ; 
now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with 
their enchantments. 

" 12. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became 
serpents ; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods." 

Now, gentlemen, of course you do not doubt this story. 
Your credulity will not admit the truth of phenomena 
narrated by many of the ablest scientists in the world 
to-day and witnessed and proven by thousands of truth- 
ful, intelligent witnesses now living ; but you dare not 
deny the story in Exodus, although the incidents it relates 
happened among an ignorant people three thousand years 
ago, and the evidence thereof has come down to us through 
the uncertain channel of ancient tradition, made doubly 
obscure by uncertain translations and centuries of unre- 
corded events. If, then, the story be true, is it not plain 
that this revered " snake story" cannot be explained by 
either your theory of legerdemain or the luxation of a 



50 m ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OP 

" toe-joint," and that the Crumrinian theory alone can 
account for the phenomena? 

Gentlemen, as honest, intelligent searchers after truth, 
is it not evident to you that your Commission is not com- 
plete without a Crumrine? and that your apparatus for 
investigation is incomplete without the " toe- joint" of an 
illustrious female ? Remember that science takes no heed 
of the insignificance of the incident or apparatus by which 
a great truth is demonstrated to the world. The fall of 
an apple led to the discovery of the law of gravitation, 
while it is said that a floating log, by the side of a philos- 
opher while bathing, led to the solution of the problem of 
Hiero's crown. 

" Who hath despised the day of small things?" inquires 
the prophet in a deprecatory manner. If this interroga- 
tory has been unanswered during all these centuries, since 
it was uttered, should you, gentlemen, ignore the recent 
" Crumrinian " and " toe-joint" theories, its answer would 
be suggested to every thinking mind. Of course, the toe- 
joint is one of the least in the osseous system ; yet, if it 
can be used to explain phenomena that has confounded 
both wisdom and science, it is all-important because of 
the results, and you should not allow any contempt you 
may feel for the owner of the abnormal organism, to stand 
between }^ou and your manifest duty. Neither should 
an} 7 false modesty prevent your making a thorough exam- 
ination of the " locus in quo," and all the laws that govern 
it ; perhaps a judicious and skillful use of your penny 
mirror may discover all you wish to know, without per- 
sonal and offensive contact with this marvellous member. 

You are well aware of the law of acoustics, that sound 
is but an effect caused by the vibrations of the body from 
whence it originates, and that it decreases as the square 
of the distance from the producing cause. It would be v 
well for you to explain how a rap made by a toe-joint 



T?HE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 51 

that was not audible at or near the joint, could be dis- 
tinctly heard on a wall or ceiling a number of feet away. 
Here is a problem in acoustics worthy of your " trained 
habits of investigation." Here your scientific education 
would aid you, while in the investigation of the Crumri- 
nian theory, I do not know what your experience is, or 
how intimate you may be with the alleged author or cause 
of so-called spirit phenomena. Gentlemen, let me kindly 
suggest to you that while you carefully investigate all the 
theories that pretend to explain this mysterious phenom- 
ena, and give every one its proper consideration, 3-ou 
fail not in giving " the Devil his due." 

I do know that the explanation given in your review of 
the phenomenon of slate writing is incorrect. I know this 
from personal experience, and repeatedly witnessing it, as 
well as from my acquaintance with its imitation in the 
feats of legerdemain. But I am not so certain about 
brother Crumrine's exposition. I do not have the good 
preacher's acquaintance with the prima causa of all the 
wonders he has become acquainted with in his eight years 
of investigation ; but from a lawyer's standpoint it does 
look as if he had both the evidence and the logic to sup- 
port his charitable and enlightened theory. Yet it is a 
mystery to me, that when a lawyer and a preacher should 
visit the mediums of Lily Dale for the same purpose, with 
two slates similarly prepared and sealed together, the 
Devil should give the preference to the preacher and not 
the lawyer. A friend of mine to whom I propounded 
this riddle, and who evidently had little or no regard for 
my feelings, remarked that "the solution of the enigma 
was plain enough to him ; his Satanic Majesty was sure 
of the lawyer, while he was just fishing for the preacher." 
Of course I rejected this explanation ; yet as I natural^ 
feel some anxiety on the subject, should you continue 
your investigations and finally adopt the diabolical theory, 



52 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

will you kindly give me your opinion of the correctness of 
my friend's solution? 

Magic Slate Writing. 

To those of my readers who have witnessed the slate 
writing as performed by itinerating magicians, and who 
did not understand the secrets of the "trick," a more 
elaborate explanation than that given in my former review 
may be interesting. 

There are various methods of performing this feat. I 
gave a description of several of them in my first book, 
and will now add the following thereto : — 

1st. The magician has a preparation called magic or 
invisible ink, which is perfectly colorless or transparent. 
When a communication is written on a slate with this ink 
and becomes perfectly dry, it is invisible ; yet, when wet 
with a sponge charged with a chemicallv prepared water, 
in a few minutes it will look exactly as if written with a 
slate-pencil. 

2d. He has a bowl or pitcher of chemically prepared 
water and a sponge to use in washing the slates. 

3d. A dictionary, got up to all appearance externally 
like an ordinary Webster or Worcester, yet composed of 
pages that are all alike, of which generally the magician 
has four. Of course, the corner words, top and bottom, 
on the right and left pages, are alike in each volume. 
For example : if the reader will turn to pages 434 and 435 
in Worcester's Dictionary, edition of 1881, he will find 
the top word on the left corner of the page to be " Dog- 
house" ; definition, "a kennel for dogs." On the right 
page, top corner, " Doltishly, in a doltish manner — stu- 
pidly, foolishly." On the bottom left corner, "Dogmatizer, 
one who dogmatizes." On the bottom of the right corner, 
"Domestic, a household slave*" A sufficient number of 
these leaves are bound together to make a volume of the 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 53 

'ordinary-sized dictionary. Before the exhibition has com- 
menced, the magician has written with his magic ink on a 
slate the four words and definitions above given. Well, 
the show begins. The front seats are generally occupied 
by the clergy, to whom complimentary tickets have been 
given, and who are sure to attend and manifest their 
approval of any shoiv that will disprove the demonstrations 
of Spiritualism, and bid the showman "God speed" be- 
cause he has proven that the fundamental principles of 
Christianity cannot be demonstrated to be true. 

The first proceeding of the intellectual entertainment is 
the bringing forth by the showman of two slates, a bowl 
of water, a sponge, and a strong string. The next is to 
select from the front seats a gentleman " who looks most 
wise," yet one that the experience of the showman and 
his observation of men has taught him is one whose wis- 
dom is in an inverse ratio to his appearance. The fact is 
that a magician always prefers to call on an orthodox 
minister to assist him in proving that so-called spirit man- 
ifestations are frauds and deceptions. The reason is that, 
as a class, the clergy are so honest and guileless them- 
selves, so unsophisticated and unsuspecting, that they will 
not detect a legerdemain trick that would be a "chestnut" 
to every gallery critic or street gamin ; and, besides, in all 
shows of this kind the conjurer has the sympathy of the 
ministry. I often wonder why it is so. I will not say 
of them, in the words of David Garrick, that — 

1 ' A fellow-feeling makes one wondrous kind." 

Yet the fact exists. They will not allow the truth of 
their faith or the fulfillment of their hope to be demon- 
strated, and will bid "God speed" to every vagabond 
showman that holds up to ridicule the sincere Christian 
faith of millions of their fellow-men. But I pause before 
the aphorism of Buckminster, — 



54 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

' ' The highest exercise of charity is charity toward the 
uncharitable" — and proceed with simple narration. 

The reverend gentleman steps forward in a manner that 
causes a feeling of awe in the audience and gives a proper 
dignity to the performance. The showman politely hands 
him a wet sponge and a prepared slate, requests him to 
wash it : with a solemnity becoming the person and the 
place it is done. The showman now takes the slate 
from the ministerial hand and lays it on the table by his 
side, with the written side down. He then hands the min- 
ister another clean slate, and requests him to wash it also. 
This done, he is requested to lay that slate on the table, 
and to break off a small piece of slate-pencil and place 
it thereon. The next proceeding is for the showman to 
lift up the first slate and place it on top of the other, with 
the prepared surface down. He now requests the minister 
to tie the slates together with a strong string, which is 
also done. This renders the trick more mysterious ; yet 
it is necessary, as chemistry has been at work for some 
moments developing the writing, and if the slates were 
not tied together, a morbid curiosity might induce the 
assistant to look at their inner surface before the denoue- 
ment came. The slates are now secure, never having left 
the sight of the audience for a moment, and having been 
washed clean (?) with a sponge, are held in open view. 
Next the showman takes one of his dictionaries and hands 
it to another occupant of the front row, and giving him a 
card, requests him to insert it between the leaves of the 
closed book, enjoining him not to look at the page of the 
insertion, as in that event the feat might be explained by 
what is called " mind-reading." This being done, the 
showman distributes his dictionaries to four different per- 
sons, giving all the same injunction. Then he talks a 
few moments, to give chemistry full time to develop the 
writing on the slates. He tells his admiring audience that 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 55 

"all so-called spirit manifestations are but feats of magic," 
and, seemingly forgetful of the ministerial presence before 
him, offers to bet a given sum that he can perform every 
phenomenon of so-called Spiritualism, and "teach a little 
child to do it in ten minutes' time " ; whereupon the front 
row smile in a most forgiving and complacent manner. 

The time for the denouement has arrived. The show- 
man goes to one holder of a dictionary and requests him 
to open it where he has inserted a card and read the word 
and definition on the top left-hand corner of the page. 
It is done, and the word " Dog-house," with the definition, 
— "a kennel for dogs" — is read so the audience can 
hear it. The next holder of a dictionaiy is requested to 
open where he inserted his card, and read the word and 
definition on the right top corner of the page ; and he 
reads : " Doltishly, stupidly, foolishly," etc. The front row 
do not consider this definition in the least as personal. 
The same is done with the other holders of the diction- 
aries, the showman taking them into his possession as 
soon as each holder has read his word and definition, 
to prevent an examination of them. When the diction- 
aries are all gathered and put in a safe place, the man 
of apparent wisdom who has held the slates ad interim 
is requested to open them, and if there are any messages 
thereon , to read them to the audience. With solemn dignity 
he complies, opens the slates, and lo ! one of them is 
covered with writing. He reads, and, wonder of won- 
ders, there are the very words and definitions read by 
the several holders of the dictionaries, written as dis- 
tinctly as was the writing on the wall at Belshazzar's 
feast. For a moment the audience is awe-struck. Then 
the whole front row rush forward and grasp the hand of 
the showman with unfeigned gratitude, shake hands with 
each other, almost shed tears of joy over the over- 
whelming fact that Spiritualism has been exposed, and 



56 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

that hereafter if any desire to believe in a future life 
they must depend on hope and faith alone. No demon- 
strations of spirit life, such as were ordained of God, 
cheered the patriarchs of old, and convinced the disbe- 
lieving in the days of the prophets and of the Saviour 
and his followers, are to be received; but " my will, not 
thine, be done," is the prayer of the front row, while the 
" gallery critics" hiss at the shallowness of the deception. 

Imitation of Clairvoyance. 

The excitement consequent upon the exposure of the 
slate-writing phenomena having somewhat subsided, " the 
show proceeds." The showman appears on the front of 
the stage, holding a book in his hand. This book has a 
smooth, hard binding, and is covered with thin, tough paper, 
as a school-boy covers his new spelling-book. Under this 
cover is laid a sheet of white paper the size of the book- 
cover ; on it a sheet of manifold, or carbonized, paper, 
such as is used by type- writers to make duplicate copies 
of communications. The paper cover is then smoothly 
replaced. The showman now takes another sheet of 
paper of the size of the one under the cover, lays it 
on the book, and calls for an assistant to write a sen- 
tence on it. Another front row occupant steps forward. 
The showman hands him the book with the sheet of paper 
laid on its cover, and at the same time gives him a hard 
lead pencil, with a well-rounded prepared point, and 
requests him to write a sentence on the paper ; which 
he does, using the book to lay the paper on while he 
writes. The lead of the pencil being hard, and the out- 
side paper well glazed and with a hard surface, the assist- 
ant must write with a heavy hand to make his writing 
visible. This, of course, leaves a facsimile of what he 
writes on the white paper under the manifold paper 



REPORT. 57 

beneath the cover. The showman requests the assistant 
to put the paper on which he has written in an envelope 
which he will find on the inside of the book. The assist- 
ant looks, but does not find it. With an expression of 
surprise, the showman reaches for the book, and, taking 
it from the assistant, also searches among its pages, but 
does not find the envelope. Then he suddenly remembers 
that he has left it behind his screen, and telling his assist- 
ant to fold the paper he has written upon, and that he 
will get an envelope, steps hastily behind his screen, 
removes the cover, takes out the sheet with the facsimile 
on it, hastily reads what is written, replaces the cover, 
and stepping back, hands the envelope to his assistant, 
who places the writing in it and seals it securely. The 
showman then requests some one to securely blindfold 
him, which is skillfully done. And now curiosity is on 
tiptoe. The audience awaits the culmination with anx- 
ious expectancy. The assistant is requested to hold the 
envelope before the covered eyes of the showman, who, 
in a hesitating voice, slowly reads : " Charity shall cover 
the multitude of sins ." The reverend assistant is evidently 
astonished ; so is the greater portion of the audience. 
Applause follows. The front row smile exultingly, and 
one reverend gentleman remarks to the audience : — 

" I have been investigating Spiritualism for more than 
tiventy-five years. I have witnessed the phenomena of clair- 
voyance as produced by many mediums of national repute, 
and I must say that the test we have just witnessed is supe- 
rior to that of any medium I ever saw. This showman is 
called of God to do this work, and I hereby give him my 
endorsement and God-speed." 

At this one of the "gallery gods" shouts, "Oh ! chest- 
nuts ! ! I know how it is done, but I won't tell ! ! " where- 
upon a policeman collars the embryonic Seybert Commis- 
sioner and ejects him from the room for disturbing "the 
congregation." 



58 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

The trick I have just described is often combined with 
another in a manner well calculated to defy the "trained 
habits " of the front row. This combination is performed 
as follows : A lady connected with the show is placed 
upon a chair in front of the stage. She is blindfolded, 
and then covered with a large black cloth like a tent. 
Near the side of her chair is a hole through the stage 
floor, and an assistant showman under the stage has a 
flexible hose or rubber tube, one end of which runs back 
behind the stage curtain, through which is a "peep hole," 
and the end of it is held by a confederate, who can look 
through the hole and — see all that is done in the audience- 
room and whisper it in the tube. The other end of this 
tube is by the assistant under the stage thrust through the 
hole in the floor. The lady under the cloth reaches down 
and draws the tube up and places it near her ear. Thus 
there is a whispering-tube communication between her and 
her confederate back of the curtain, and he can tell her 
all he sees through the peep-hole — and more than this. 
The writing having been done on the manifold paper, as 
I have described, the showman passes behind the curtain 
or screen and gives the writing under the book cover to 
the confederate. When the sealed envelope is passed over 
the head of the concealed woman, the confederate behind 
the curtain whispers its facsimile to her and — the woman 
who was blindfolded and put under the cloth before the 
paper was written reads it clairvoyantly ( ?) when it is held 
over her head. This feat, when adroitly done, is well 
calculated to deceiye the front row, and, in fact, the whole 
audience. The showman can then go out in the audience 
and touch a hat, coat, or bonnet, or anything in view of 
the confederate at the peep-hole, who whispers it through 
the tube to the woman, and she repeats the description as 
given to her. A system of word signals is often used in 
conjunction with this feat. 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 59 

An amusing incident occurred in our city a few years 
ago, which, as it is illustrative of this trick, I will relate. 
It happened during the Grant and Greeley campaign. At 
that time, white hats were worn by the supporters of 
Horace Greeley as an insignia of their political prefer- 
ence, and I suppose in remembrance of the hat generally 
worn by the eccentric philosopher. During the cam- 
paign, young Professor Anderson and his wife gave a 
very entertaining performance in magic at our theater. 
The professor was a gentleman, a son of my old friend, 
the "Wizard of the North," and his wife was a very 
bright and accomplished little lady. 

During a performance one evening, the professor was 
giving imitations of clairvoyance in the manner I have 
described. Mrs. Anderson was the clairvoyant (?) . At 
the close of this part of the exhibition, after she had read 
the contents of a sealed envelope, the professor walked 
out into the audience, touching various articles as he 
passed along. This the confederate saw, whispered to 
Mrs. Anderson, who immediately informed the audience 
what articles were touched by her husband. 

At last he picked up a Greeley hat, and holding it up 
so that the confederate could see it, he enquired, — 

"What is this?" 

"A Greeley hat," whispered the confederate at the 
peep-hole. 

Now, the lady was not a politician and did not know 
what "a Greeley hat" meant, and she understood the 
whisper through the tube to say, "a green hat," and 
after some hesitation she so answered. 

"What?" enquired her husband, in a tone of surprise. 
"What do you say it is ? " 

"A green hat," she repeated. 

Here the confederate whispered through the tube, ' ' You 
are mistaken — a Greeley hat, Horace Greeley hat." 



60 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

"What did you say it is?" again enquired the profes- 
sor, in somewhat impatient tones ; when she replied, — 

"I said it was a green hat, but I suppose politicians 
call it a Greeley hat ; though I think that the man who 
would vote for the old turncoat is very green, and I named 
it after its owner." 

This answer not only " brought down" the house, but 
it clearly established her reputation as a clahw^ant. The 
next day the owner of the hat sent the bright little lady a 
beautiful bouquet as an evidence of his appreciation of the 
joke. 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, I have in this 
and my former review described the manner in which the 
showman on the stage of the theater, surrounded by the 
paraphernalia of his occupation and assisted by trained 
confederates, can exhibit ingenious imitations of the phe- 
nomena of so-called spirit manifestations. There are 
many other tricks or feats of legerdemain in the same 
direction that I have not described, such as the adroit 
substitution of slates, spectral illusions made with con- 
cealed mirrors and magic lanterns, raps produced by 
electro-magnetic devices, concealed in tables, sofas, and 
behind the walls or ceilings of rooms ; yet the difference 
between these exhibitions of the showman's art, and the 
manifestation of an unseen intelligent force so often dis- 
played at many firesides where fraud could not exist, 
must be apparent to every one of your number ; and to 
deny it requires a criminal hardihood that would disregard 
the solemn obligations of judicial oaths or affirmations. 

Observe the late achievement of the showman's skill in 
deception, as recently exhibited in the ridiculous fiasco of 
Mrs. Kane in New York City. In the purity of her 
childhood, certain phenomena attended the presence of 
herself and sisters. It attracted the attention of the 
intelligent observer and scientific investigator. The phe- 



61 



nomena that attended the Fox sisters has become a part 
of the authentic history of "occult science." They are 
described in all the recent encyclopaedias and works on 
psychology, and have been made the subject of many a 
treatise by learned scientists. 

After innumerable, carefully conducted investigations 
by able and experienced physicists all over the civilized 
world, and the formation of many scientific theories to 
account for the phenomena which began during the inno- 
cence of childhood, continued through the purity of girl- 
hood and the virtue of the early womanhood of the three 
sisters, now two of them, whose later lives are stained with 
vice, come upon a stage in New York City, publish their 
falsehoods, proclaim their infamy to the world, and un- 
blushingly announce that their sister and themselves have 
been living lies and animated frauds during the greater 
portion of their lives. 

"Oh, Shame! where is thy blush?" 

But the silliness of the story carries with it its own refu- 
tation. One of them describes a portion of the phenomena 
as having been caused by an apple tied by a string to her 
toe, and dropped upon the floor under her bed, and that 
with this device many of the raps were produced. That 
a story so absurd, coming from such a source, should be 
credited by any one is indeed a marvel. Why, it is more 
than probable that even the Seybert Commissioners might 
have detected this simple fraud, and surely it could not 
have escaped the investigating ability of the number of 
curious old ladies who visited the sisters in the early 
days of the phenomena. If this revelation be true, it far 
exceeds the wonderful experience of an able member of 
the Seybert Commission with Caffray's fly-paper, as nar- 
rated in the gooseberry report. 

And then the luxation of a " toe-joint," in combination 



62 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

with the tricks of a showman, surrounded with the appa- 
ratus of a magician, and assisted by confederates, is given 
to explain all the phenomena witnessed and testified to by 
thousands of truthful, intelligent observers, under condi- 
tions that excluded all possibility of fraud. The home 
stance and the fireside circle where educated magic could 
not come, where deceit could not escape detection, and 
would not be tolerated, are all explained and denounced 
as fraudulent by a woman who makes a public show of 
her infamy at popular prices, and the unthinking world 
claps its hands with glee at the indecent exhibition. 

If human testimony can prove anything, it is certain 
there is an unseen force that moves ponderable objects 
intelligently, plays on musical instruments, writes in lan- 
guages unknown to the medium, foretells events, writes 
communications inside of sealed and riveted slates, heals 
the sick, operates the sounder of a telegraph, and does all 
this when no magician could be present undetected ; and 
— if the theory of the Rev. J. T. Crumrine and those like 
him is true — raises diabolus generally ; and the public is 
asked to believe that all this has been lucidly explained 
by a business combination of a showman with an elastic 
conscience, and a woman with a loosely fitting toe. To 
those who have witnessed the so-called " spirit phenom- 
ena " under strictly test conditions, and who know as 
well as they can know any other physical fact from the 
evidence of their senses, that the phenomena actually 
exist, the so-called " expose " made by expert magicians 
and vagabond showmen appear very ridiculous. And to 
those who have studied the beautiful philosophy of Spir- 
itualism, the flippant editorials and communications of 
newspaper correspondents on that subject seem to be not 
only silly, but cruelly unjust. The fact that it is the sin- 
cere religious belief of so many thousands of intelligent 
people, should ensure for it the respect due to candid 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 63 

thought and honest opinion, even though both thought 
and opinion may be erroneous. Its consoling theories 
and apparent truths have brought comfort to many an 
aching heart ; they have mitigated the grief of bereave- 
ment, and robbed the grave of its terrors in many a think- 
ing mind, confirmed many a wavering Christian faith, and 
given to hope a brightness undimmed by doubt or uncer- 
taint}-. Spiritual phenomena manifest their benign influ- 
ence in the home circle of prayer and invocation, smooth 
the pillow of suffering, mitigate the pains of death, and 
by the coffin of the beloved dead their cheering tones are 
heard asserting the glorious truth, — 

"They are not dead, but sleeping." 

The many charges of immorality made against the 
teachings of Spiritualism are untrue in every sense of the 
word. A man may be a thief and yet believe in its 
philosophy, as he may be a murderer and yet believe in 
the doctrine of the atonement. He may be convinced of 
the truth of its manifestations and be immoral in conduct, 
as he may have no doubts as to the miracles of the 
Saviour, and yet be a sinner. Spiritualism in its religious 
teachings sells no indulgences, and gives no immunity to 
crime ; but it does teach that the conditions of a future 
life depend upon our conduct here ; that the influences of 
earth reach beyond its boundaries ; that our vices or 
virtues here will to a great extent mould or influence our 
happiness hereafter, and that all causes however minute 
lead to certain unchangeable results. 

" As the pebble in the streamlet cast, 

Has changed the course of many a river; 
While the dewdrop on the baby plant, 
Has warped the giant oak forever." 

If other religious denominations were to be judged 
as uncharitably by the public press as is Spiritualism, 



64 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

" there would be none that doeth good; no, not one!" 
How frequently in our public prints do we see the head line 
" Another Good Man Gone Astray " and on reading the 
account we learn that " one occupying a high position of 
trust and confidence, a prominent member of a Christian 
church, has embezzled the funds of which he was the custo- 
dian, and ' gone to Canada ' " ; and yet how unjust would 
it be to publish the fact as an evidence of the hypocrisy 
of religion. Or we read that a celebrated divine in an 
attempt to perform the part of Joseph in a certain 
domestic drama, did not acquit himself with the eclat 
attained by the saviour of famine- stricken Egypt ; yet 
how unjust would it be to proclaim that all of the mem- 
bers of the good man's church were imbued with the 
doctrine of free-love, that it was asserted in their confes- 
sion of faith, and therefore that all religion was'a fraud, 
and all clergymen " wolves in sheep's clothing." Would 
the Christian enlightenment of the age sanction, or even 
tolerate such manifest injustice ? " Is it just to charge the 
"church militant" with the individual mental and moral 
obliquities of its members? or Spiritualism with the 
vagaries or sins of some of its advocates? 

There is one effect produced by these exposures of the 
pretended frauds of spiritual manifestations not con- 
templated by its enemies. They confirm the belief of those 
who have witnessed the true phenomena and compared 
them with the silly tricks of jugglery and legerdemain. 
No candid enquirer, who will patiently investigate the 
phenomena within easy reach of his observation, will fail 
to discover evidence of the operation of an unseen intelli- 
gent force. What it is, or by what certain and fixed 
laws it is governed, is yet a mystery ; but its existence is 
so clearly proven, and it so fearlessly invites investigation, 
that science will yet yield to its demand. It is easy for 
jugglers and showmen to perform feeble imitations of its 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 65 

wonders, but it is impossible for them to produce its 
actual results. No magician ever lived who could, by the 
aid of his art alone, write on the inner surface of two 
slates riveted and sealed together an intelligent sentence. 
He might as well undertake to raise the dead, or command 
the winds and the sea and compel them to obey him. 

We are too apt to judge of the might of natural laws 
by the magnitude of their visible effects or the phenomena 
they produce ; and to think that it is easier to abrogate 
these laws when operating on minute particles or organ- 
isms than when acting on large masses of matter or 
gigantic physical bodies. We forget that it is the same 
law that causes the fall of an apple and the destructive 
effect of an avalanche. The power that could revive a 
dead ephemera is as great as that which warmed the de- 
caying body of Lazarus into renewed life. The summer 
zephyr is moved by the same law as that which drives the 
tornado or cyclone on its resistless course. It is true 
that it is easier for man by opposing force to prevent the 
fall of a grain of sand than a mountain-slide, yet the 
ability to annul the law that moves the one, would be as 
great as that which would suspend the force that drives 
the other, and a skill in magic that could impart to a 
small fragment of stone a power to move and act intelli- 
gently could people Mount Olympus with the gods of 
mythology. 

It must be evident to all thinking minds that feats of 
magic are but the concealed operation of some well-known 
law, and when the conditions are such that the magician 
cannot apply force to the object he desires to move, it 
would remain at rest forever. If then, under such condi- 
tions, it does move and act intelligently, it is certain that 
it does so from the effect of some unknown power ; and 
if a fragment of pencil is placed between two sealed and 
riveted slates so as to be beyond the reach of physical 






66 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

force, either directly applied by personal contact or by 
mechanical devices, it is absolutely certain that it cannot 
be moved by any human power now known to science. 
What future investigation may discover is unknown ; but 
the scientist is justified in accepting the most rational 
explanation afforded by our present knowledge. So do 
we judge all phenomena ; upon such deductions do we act 
in all the affairs of life, and accept the truths of so-called 
revealed religion. Why, then, should we not judge Spirit- 
ualism by the same rules of logic and the same law of 
ethics ? 

A large portion of the public press of the country treat 
the subject of Spiritualism with becoming candor and 
fairness. It is bigotry alone that refuses to investigate, 
condemns without evidence, and decides without knowl- 
edge ; that echoes the senseless cry of fraud, and falsely 
charges immorality and sin against a conscientious relig- 
ious belief that is adopted by millions of honest, intelli- 
gent votaries, forgetting that charity is the insignia of a 
Christian, and senseless condemnation the badge of a bigot 
or a fool. 

Since wri-ting the foregoing chapter my attention has 
been called to an able editorial in the Minneapolis Tribune 
of Oct. 29, 1888* which for its candor and point deserves 
a more prominent record than that of the columns of a 
daily paper. It but echoes the sentiment of a great por- 
tion of the American people, and deserves the considera- 
tion of all but those creed-bound bigots who believe with 
the worthy English bishop that "Orthodoxy is always my 
doxy, and heterodoxy somebody else's doxy." 

The Editorial. 

" There is just now a good deal of newspaper controversy 
and agitation over the alleged exposures of Spiritualism made 
by Kate Fox- Jencken and Margaret Fox-Kane. There are to-clay 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 67 

over eight millions of avowed Spiritualists, and the number of 
men and women who believe it, yet dare not own it, is probably 
three times that number. These women have charged a good ad- 
mission fee to illustrate certain sleight of hand tricks, similar to 
manifestations alleged to have been made by spirits. What does 
this prove or disprove? When a Sunday-school superintendent 
leaves the country with the cash box, or a minister leaves his 
charge and his family to visit abroad with another gentleman's 
wife, nobody thinks of reflecting on the Christian religion. To 
profess religion, regeneration of spirits, and even sanctification, 
requires no great amount of skill, casts no slur on religion; 
producing spirit rappings and slate writing, with properly con- 
trived apparatus, argues nothing against the genuineness of 
other demonstrations. After all, Spiritualism contains nothing 
that is opposed to religion, morality, or the Bible. The Bible 
is a religion born of spiritual faith, of miraculous visions of 
angels, interviews with spirits, prophetic signs and warnings 
and dreams. From Genesis to John the communion between 
the physical and spiritual world is an accepted fact. The super- 
vision of spirits over earthly affairs is related as a matter of 
course. The warnings and admonitions of spirits excite no 
wonder. The communication of angels and mortals forms the 
warp and woof of evidence in the Christian religion. The 
Bible furnishes a long list of very eminent men who talked with 
angels or saints or spirits. We are left, then, to deny their 
testimony, and call the old prophets and wise men frauds, or 
accept it as the evidence of spiritual communications. If men 
in the days of Moses and Abraham and Job and of Saul saw and 
talked with angels, why not in the days of Mr. Jones and Mr. 
Smith? 

" The New Testament is full of spirit revelation, of faith and 
reliance upon spiritual manifestations. If people only nineteen 
hundred years ago saw and talked with the dead, what is there 
so marvelous in it to-day? If the spirits of the dead once 
walked the earth, what special odium should attach to men who 
claim they have never given up the habit? If the dead ever did 
come back to anybody on earth, what is there to be derided in 
the notion that they are doing it to-day? Some of the Bible 
characters who claimed to be mediums, that is, seers of spirits, 
were not much better or wiser than some of the gentlemen who 
claim such powers to-day. Moral character did not seem to be 



68 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

a test of mediumship then, nor is it so claimed now. The char- 
acter of communications was not always angelic then (accord- 
ing to our notion), inciting to war, pillage, and murder. If 
immortality is not a fable, but a divine truth, the souls of men 
abide somewhere, under new conditions, governed by laws of 
a spiritual nature. There does not seem anything very blood- 
curdling or horrible or immoral in discovering that the great 
law which guides the sap in the tree, and the blood in one's 
veins, should extend over and embrace the spirits that are 
chained to the flesh, and the spirits that are freed from its 
weight. Mrs. Fox-Kane, producing raps with her big toe, is one 
sort of argument ; but the destroying of the belief of a large body 
of people, and annihilating the latent hope in the hearts of mill- 
ions, that death is but the dropping of a veil between us and our 
beloved, requires a higher type of demonstration. Mrs. Fox- 
Kane may be very earnest in her endeavors to expose Spirit- 
ualism, but she admits that she has been a fraud all her life, 
and confesses that she knows nothing of the phenomena which 
she has counterfeited. Spiritualism as a religious belief is as 
much entitled to tolerance and respect as Catholicism or Uni- 
tarianism, or as the faith of Swedenborg, which takes pious 
cognizance of the same phenomena which Spiritualists hold as 
evidences of a future existence. Because Modern Spiritualism, 
at its present stage of development, offers a good screen for 
the operations of many frauds and impostors, it is no reason 
why deep faith and sincere convictions, both aiding to secure 
better morals and lead the mind into better channels, should be 
subjected to ridicule or contemptuous derogation. 

"Any belief which tends to improve a portion of a com- 
munity, no matter how small, should be encouraged. 

"Your neighbor's path to a higher moral and spiritual plane 
may not be known to you, but you have no reason to believe 
that it is less safe, less sure, or less direct than the one you are 
following yourself." 



The Magic Cabinet. 



x 



These cabinets are constructed in many ways — with 
double partitions, false bottoms, adjustable sides, and 
duplicate curtains. One of the most deceptive is that 
used for materializing stances ; and notwithstanding its 



REPORT. 69 

simplicity of construction, is exceedingly well calculated 
to deceive. It is generally a part of a showman's appa- 
ratus. In form it is a square frame, six feet by four, 
and about eight feet in height. It is placed upon legs 
ten or twelve inches in length. The curtains in front 
are divided in the center, and can be easily drawn apart, 
showing the inside of the cabinet. Across one end of 
the floor is a trap-door, eighteen inches in width, opening 
from the end toward the center. The floor is covered 
with a carpet which conceals it, even from careful obser- 
vation. TThen this cabinet is placed on the stage, — 
which must be covered with a drugget of one color and 
without figures on its surface, — it appears to the audience 
as if they could look under the cabinet, and that therefore 
its " inner sanctuary" could not be reached from beneath. 
Eight here is a simple deception. Between the legs of 
the cabinet, and extending from its floor to that of the 
stage, are plate mirrors, one across the front and one 
across each end ; and as these mirrors reflect the drugget 
from their various faces, it looks to the audience as if 
they could see the whole surface of the stage floor under 
the cabinet. The cabinet is placed over a trap-door in 
the stage. The lights are turned down to such a degree 
as to leave all objects on the stage visible in the weird 
light of semi-darkness, or partial illumination. The cur- 
tains in front are drawn open by the magician, who stands 
at the end of the cabinet in such a position that the 
reflection of his person will not be seen in the mirrors — 
to all appearance the cabinet is empty. Its whole inside 
can be distinctly seen ; its carpeted floor is plainly visible ; 
and the audience think they can and do see the stage to 
its whole extent beneath the cabinet, when they only see 
the mirrors reflecting the floor in front. The curtains are 
now closed, to be opened in a few moments, showing 
a radiant " spirit form" (?) of a female, apparently 



70 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

clothed in the ethereal garments of "Drake's Sylphide 
Queen," standing in the center of the cabinet. I have 
even seen beautiful book-board wings, covered with span- 
gles and "Dutch gilt," on the shoulders of these angels 
of the sphere of sawdust and tan-bark. The cur- 
tains close ; the spirit descends through the traps in 
the floor of the cabinet and the stage to the regions 
below, from whence another spirit arises to appear when 
the curtains are again opened. And this stupidly silly 
performance is hailed with delight by the intelligent 
audience as an expose" of Spiritualism. Its death is 
announced in some daily paper at advertising prices ; 
a refulgent and effervescing clergyman preaches its 
funeral sermon, conducts its last obsequies, voices the 
opinion of the Creator as to the merits of the show, 
bids the showman God-speed, and with a Podsnapian 
waive of his hand the whole subject of Spiritualism is 
forever thrust not only behind himself, but the great 
thinking world. 

Yet if there is anything that could satisfy the infidel 
mind as to the continuity of life, and a spirit existence 
after the event called death, it should be the number of 
times Spiritualism has died and lived again. Repeatedly 
have its phenomena been murdered by itinerating show- 
men, and its philosophy strangled 03^ the intellectual grasp 
of the clergy, or thrown into the flames of Tartarus by 
a Crumrinian fireman ; yet, Phcenix-like, it has arisen 
from the ashes of its dead, and with renewed vigor, and 
on broader pinions, pursued its tireless, resistless course, 
carrying assurance to doubting faith, and promises of 
fulfilment to the hope deferred of the true Christian. 



71 



CHAPTER III. 

SPIRIT PHOTOGRAPHS (?). 

" Your noblest natures are most credulous." 

Chapman. 
" For of the soul, the body form doth take ; 
For soul is form, and doth the body make." 

Spensee. 

Is so-called spirit photography a genuine phenomenon? 
I don't know. I have seen a number of photographs that 
their possessors seriously asserted were correct likenesses 
of their departed friends, yet to me they looked like 
frauds. I have never seen any taken under test condi- 
tions. I once sat for one. Two plates were subjected to 
the joint influence of myself and the spirit- world ( ?) , and 
I am satisfied that both pictures were produced by a well- 
known feat of ordinary photography. This pretended 
phenomenon is so easily performed, by even a t} r ro in the 
art, that credulous persons are frequently deceived thereby ; 
and yet I believe it can be scientifically demonstrated that 
such a phenomenon is possible, and in this, as well as all 
other so-called spirit manifestations, fact and falsehood, 
truth and trickery, may be combined in proportions suited 
to the credulity of the subject or the skill and dishonesty 
of the operator. 

The human eye is in its construction very like the 
camera of the photographer. The ball of the eye is a 
most perfectly constructed optical instrument. It has 
two chambers : the anterior filled with aqueous humor, 
and the posterior with vitreous humor. Between these 
two chambers is suspended the crystalline lens. In front 



72 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

of this lens is the iris, which forms a partition between 
the two chambers of the eye ; it is perforated with a small 
hole called the pupil immediately in front of the crystal- 
line lens. The iris is composed of two layers : one with 
fibers radiating from the center to the circumference, the 
other with circular fibers that surround the pupil. Through 
the agency of these fibers the pupil or hole is enlarged or 
contracted, thereby admitting more or less light into the 
posterior chamber through the crystalline lens. When the 
light is very strong, it acts upon the delicate nerves and 
fibers of the iris in such a manner as to partially close the 
pupil. When the light is feeble, the pupil expands. The 
cornea is a projection in front of the iris like a watch 
crystal in shape. 

The crystalline lens, the iris, and the cornea are very 
like the lens-tube in a photograph camera. The posterior 
chamber resembles the box of the instrument ; it is coated 
on the inside with pigmentum nigrum, or black paint, like 
the inside of the camera box. At the back part of the 
eye is a most perfect mirror, called the retina, a ganglionic 
ramification of the optic nerve, which extends back into 
the sensorium, or that portion of the brain which takes 
cognizance of the formation of all images impressed upon 
the retina. When an object is presented to the eye, it 
requires about the sixth part of a second for the eye to 
take cognizance of it ; that is, we look at an object for 
about the one-sixth of a second before we see it, and after 
the object has passed by, the image remains the sixth part 
of a second on the retina. For this reason, the spokes of 
a wheel that is revolving six times in a second appear to 
us like a plane, solid surface. The image of one spoke 
does not leave the sensitive mirror of the eye until an- 
other is made on it. A boy whirls a firebrand around s,ix 
times in a second, and to the observer it looks like a circle 
of fire. The image of the first spark or point of fire has 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 73 

not time to leave the retina before another is placed upon 
it. For this reason, lightning or a meteor darting across 
the sky, although in fact but a moving luminous point, 
appear like a long line of light. 

Now the photograph instrument is much more sensitive 
than the eye. Herr Ottomar Anschultz, a German pho- 
tographer, has succeeded in preparing photographic plates 
so sensitive that an exposure of -g-oVo of a second is suffi- 
cient to obtain a picture. By his process the image of a 
flying bullet is taken and appears as a slightly oblong dot. 
That is, the photograph of a ball fired from a rifle is taken 
in its flight, as if it was a stationary object. If, then, the 
camera could seize and. impress on its sensitive plate an 
object moving so swiftly as to be unseen by the human 
eye, it is certain that any object that would make an im- 
pression on the retina that would be perceived by the sen- 
sorium could be photographed by the sensitive plates of 
Herr Ottomar. 

When Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, 
and Salome went to the tomb of the Saviour with sweet 
spices that thej^ might anoint his body, and saw by the 
light of the rising sun that the stone was rolled away from 
the door of the sepulchre, and there saw a "young man 
clothed in long white garments sitting on the right of the 
tomb," if Herr Ottomar had been by their side with his 
sensitive photograph instrument and plates, it is scientifi- 
cally certain he could have taken a photograph of an angel 
or spirit ; and whenever a spirit has appeared as recorded 
by revered tradition — if a human eye saw it, it is certain 
that it would have left its impress on a chemically prepared 
plate which was eight hundred times more sensitive than 
the retina of the eye. 

But Spiritualists assert that the photograph instrument 
will take pictures of spirit forms that are so impalpable as 
to be insensible to the human eye. There is nothing in 



74 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

the knowledge of science that could disprove that state- 
ment. It is only a question of relative conditions. If 
the prepared photographic plate is eight hundred times 
more sensitive than the retina, and a spirit form is not 
eight hundred times more attenuated or impalpable than a 
human form, it would leave its impress on the plate. In 
other words, the photograph camera, like the microscope, 
can see objects that are invisible to the human eye, and 
it retains the form of these objects on a sensitive plate. 
Suppose, then, that some future inventor should invent an 
attachment to the microscope which would impress on a 
sensitive plate the forms of the animalculae it reveals to 
man in a drop of water. The phenomenon would be simi- 
lar to spirit photography. If spirit forms actually exist, 
not more invisible or impalpable than are the hundreds of. 
forms that live in a drop of water, why could they not be 
seen by the camera as readily as are the animalculae by the 
microscope ? 

But so-called spirit photography is so easily imitated by 
expert operators, and so difficult to detect by an exami- 
nation of the pictures, that I am inclined to render a 
verdict peculiar to the courts of Scotland, of " not 
proven," until I have seen it under test conditions. 

A short description of fraudulent photography may 
not be uninteresting to my readers, while it cannot fail 
to please the members of the Seybert Commission, if 
they have not already purchased the secret. Before 
photography was discovered, spirit pictures were taken 
by the daguerrotypist in a manner that would undoubtedly 
have escaped detection, even by the trained habits of 
investigation of Mr. Sellers, the author of the "asides" 
in the Eeport of the Seybert Commissioners. The pro- 
cess was as follows : — 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 75 



Spirit Daguerrottpes. 

The daguerrotype, the name given to the original 
photographic process by its inventor, M. Daguerre, in 
1839, was taken on a silver-coated copper plate. The 
process consisted, first, in cleaning and polishing the silver 
surface of the plate ; second, in rendering the plate sensi- 
tive ; third, in exposing it in the camera ; fourth, in develop- 
ing the latent image ; fifth, in fixing the picture. The 
plates were polished to the utmost possible extent, so as 
to obtain a chemically pure surface. This was done on 
a "buff wheel," or "holder," until the silver surface 
became a perfect mirror. It was then exposed, in a 
dark room, to the fumes of iodine, which imparted a 
beautiful purple color to the silver surface. It was then 
subjected to the fumes of a preparation of bromine called 
quick stuff. This gave it a golden hue. The plate, now 
ready for the camera, was placed therein and exposed to 
the object. An invisible picture was impressed on the 
sensitive coating in a few seconds' time. The plate was 
then exposed to the fumes of heated mercury, and in a 
few moments the picture appeared. The plate was then 
washed with a solution of hyposulphite of soda, which 
removed the unaltered ioclobromide of silver, leaving the 
picture untouched. While in this condition the picture 
was indistinct, and could be easily removed from the 
plate with rouge and the buff. The plate was next 
covered with a solution of chloride of gold, -and heated 
over a spirit-lamp, when the picture became "fixed" 
and distinct. After this last process the plates can 
never be cleaned so as to entirely remove the picture. 
They may be scoured with "polishing powder," and 
buffed until they appear like new plates ; and yet, if 
another picture be taken on them, in the process of gild- 
ing, the old picture will come up, its shadowy outlines 



76 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

mingling with the last picture in a manner very sug- 
gestive of an unseen ghostly form by the side of the 
sitter. 

It is only necessary for the " spirit daguerrotyper " (?) 
to have a stock of such previously exposed plates on 
hand, usually of quite aged or very young persons, and 
credulity often sees the ghostly form of a grandfather or 
mother, or a lost baby, appearing by the side of the sitter 
in the dim distance of the background. Forty-five years 
ago we called them "magic pictures.' ' An amusing 
incident once occurred to me that well illustrates this 
deception, which now, if skilfully performed, would defy 
detection even by the trained habits of the Seybert Com- 
missioners. As it led to a happy marriage, and there- 
fore may be interesting to young ladies, I will relate it 
as it occurred over forty years ago. 

A young merchant from a distant city, a very handsome 
fellow, an old friend and classmate of mine, visited me, 
and requested me to take his daguerrotype, that he might 
put it in a small locket as a present to his mother. I 
located the picture in the left-hand corner of the plate so 
that I could cut it out and not use the whole plate, as 
they were quite expensive at that early da}'. When the 
picture was gilded and developed, I found it was too large 
for the locket, and so took a smaller one for my friend. 
On the day preceding Halloween Eve several of nry young 
acquaintances called at my rooms to witness some of the 
wonders of electrical phenomena and chemical experi- 
ments covered with the mystic veil of magic. During 
the conversation one bright and very pretty young lady 
remarked: "Oh, to-night is Halloween! Girls, let us 
meet somewhere, and try some of those old Scottish 
games that Burns relates so beautifully where he 
says : — 



77 



" ' Some merry, friendly, country-folks 
Together did convene, 
To burn their nits, an' pou their stocks, 
An' haud their Halloween; 

Fu' blith that night.' 

" Who knows, girls," she vivaciously remarked, " but 
we may see some of those gentlemen that we are des- 
tined to render miserable during life? " " Hattie," said 
I, " you know I am a magician. I can show you a por- 
trait of your especial victim now, before the mystic hour 
arrives, if you would like to see him." "Yes, I would, 
poor fellow," she replied; "but remember I won't have 
him unless he looks intelligent. I don't care whether he 
is handsome or not ; but no silly fop on my plate — 
daguerrotype plate, I mean." 

I hastily scoured the plate that had my friend's picture 
in the corner, showed it to her a perfectly polished mirror, 
and requested her to mark the back of the plate by 
writing her name on the smooth metal surface with the 
point of a needle. She did so. I coated the plate, 
placed her in the chair, adjusted my camera properly, 
and when her picture was developed, over her left 
shoulder was a dim, ghostly outline in which the manly 
features of my friend were quite distinctly visible. 
Hattie was very much astonished ; but as her companions 
gathered around her, looking at the picture with wonder- 
dilated eyes, she naively remarked: "Well, he is a 
nice-looking spirit, anyhow. I wonder if he drinks 
or smokes." 

The next Christmas eve we had a dance at one of our 
hotels. I invited my friend to make it convenient on his 
return trip to attend it. He did so. The afternoon be- 
fore the party, I showed him the picture and related the 
joke. He looked at the portrait earnestly a few moments, 
and said, " Well, Professor, if that girl will have me, I'll 
make your necromantic picture a true prophecy." 



78 ADDENDUM TO THE KEVIEW OF 

That evening at the party I introduced my friend to 
Hattie. Of course I said nothing to her of his being the 
original of the spirit picture. I had not explained to her 
the secret ; but I could see by the startled expression in 
her bright eyes that she recognized him, or at least, I 
thought she did. I saw them dancing together a number 
of times that evening. She had already fallen in love 
with the spirit, and he with her picture. Their affection 
for each other increased on acquaintance, and a few 
months later I attended their wedding. They lived hap- 
pily together for many years : both their bodies now rest 
side by side in a beautiful cemeter}^ in a distant city. It 
is said that marriages are made in heaven, yet I have ob- 
tained a number of divorces in my professional life, of 
those who at the time the} T occurred were thought to be 
of celestial origin. I know, however, that this one, made 
by a magician's trick, was a happy one in this life ;. and if 
the philosoplry of Spiritualism be true, the ties of con- 
nubial love are not necessarily severed by death, neither 
are they buried in the grave. 

Spirit Photographs. 

Spirit (?) photography is similar to the daguerrotype 
process. A glass plate is coated on one side with collo- 
dion — and may be preserved in this condition for any 
length of time. Before exposure in the camera the plate 
is immersed in a bath of iodide of silver. The sensitizing 
must be done in a room lighted by a candle or a light 
admitted through yellow glass. To prepare a stock of 
spirit pictures (?) the medium (?) takes a piece of card- 
board, and making several holes in it, places it over the 
sensitive plate. On his background he places a number 
of pictures of "departed friends," generally great men, 
or aged men and women, always with a baby or two, 
and so arranges them that they will correspond with the 






79 

holes in the cardboard. Of course this is done in the 
absence of the members of the Seybert Commission. 
When the plates are thus prepared, they are marked by 
the photographer and carefully put away in a dark box as 
so much stock in trade. A visitor calls. A few adroit 
questions propounded by the operator, and answered by 
the visitor, leads the latter to easily guess whether the 
spirit to be acceptable must be an aged person, a middle- 
aged, or an infant. The sitter is placed in position, a se- 
lected plate from the stock of spirits on hand is exposed 
and developed, and often credulity recognizes a grand- 
father, or mother, a husband, or baby now in the spirit 
world, and whose images have been preserved for weeks 
in the dark cabinet of the medium. In my case, I recog- 
nize the familiar features of an old campaign lithograph 
of Horace Greeley. He seems to be whispering in my 
ear, as if remonstrating with me for not supporting him 
in his mad career for the presidency. Other unknown 
faces surrounded me from the stock in trade. I sadly 
paid four dollars for a very valuable bit of experience — 
as the Seybert Commissioners seem to have done with the 
magicians ; but as I have no further use for the secret, I 
generously donate it to the public, as an example wor- 
thy of imitation by future commissions of investigation. 

A recent investigation in one of our Eastern cities in 
relation to " composite photographs" developed some star- 
tling facts. Mr. T. C. Roche, "the father of photo- 
graphy," — as he is known to photographers all over this 
country, — being consulted upon this subject, among other 
statements, said: — 

"There are various ways for providing surprising 
results in photography, results that in one age would have 
been called magical, but in ours recognized as scientific 
tricks. The ghost picture, for instance, in which a shad- 
owy ghost — through which material objects are visible — 



80 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

is seen between natural attitudes and occupations. That 
is produced by an almost instantaneous exposure of the 
figure that is to do duty as the ghost, followed by a full 
exposure of the figures and properties that are to appear 
natural. Another novel trick was shown recently in a 
photograph reproduced by a prominent trade journal, 
which presented the photographer, seated at a table, play- 
ing chess with himself sitting on the opposite of the table, 
while he, himself, stood up in the background looking at 
his two selves playing. The figures were all on the same 
negative, which was produced by three successive expos- 
ures of the plate, parts thereof being masked each time 
by a black velvet shutter. Still another trick is that by 
which a person who likes that sort of thing, may appear 
to be photographed riding upon a flying goose, or a fish, 
or any other desired style of ridiculous locomotion. This 
is done by the subject holding upon his lap a huge piece 
of white or sky-tinted card with the fanciful figure drawn 
upon it. His face appears above the upper edge of the 
card, and seems, in the picture, joined to the funny little 
body mounted on the goose or fish." 

My readers will understand me : I do not say that 
spirit photography may not be a genuine phenomenon. 
From a scientific standpoint it looks as if it could be 
accomplished, and I have heard many credible witnesses 
say that they know it has been done. Yet it is so easy 
to imitate it, and in my case the fraud was so apparent 
and so ridiculously absurd, that I only desire to give my 
experience to the public as a warning to other investi- 
gators, who may be lacking in the ''trained habits of 
investigation" of the Seybert Commissioners. 

In this vast universe there is so much that is unseen 
compared with what is seen, that the scientist of to-day 
admits his ignorance of the countless forms of animate 
life that may surround us on every side. In the immensu- 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 81 

rable fields of stellar space, illumined and warmed by 
uncounted millions of suns vastly larger than ours, there 
must exist conditions favorable to an infinite variety of 
life, and forms suitable to its development. That we 
do not see all the wonders of animate existence proves 
simply our defective vision. The eagle and vulture from 
the altitude of clouds and storms can see much farther 
than man, while the microscopic eye of the fly can see 
forms of life in the microbe and infusaria unknown 
to us. 

If spirit life exists, why may not the wonderfully sensi- 
tive eyes that science has invented see its forms ? and if 
seen, why may not the sensitive plates of the photographer 
take cognizance of them, as the sensorium of the brain 
records the fleeting images momentarily impressed upon 
the retina? 

This subject is now attracting the attention of thinking 
minds all over the world. The public press daily records 
this fact, and creeds and dogmas in vain endeavor to 
stifle thought and investigation. The religion that fears 
the existence of unseen life and its manifestations depends 
upon ignorance and prejudice to sustain it, and under the 
sunlight of science will wither as did the gourd by 
Ninevah when the worm had smitten it in the night 
and the east wind and morning sun beat upon it. From 
Public Opinion, a magazine published in Washington, 
D.C., I quote an article taken from the National 
Review, an English periodical, which shows that public 
thought is awakened on this subject, and in defiance of 
creeds and dogmas insists upon its investigation. 

" Suppose it proved, after all, that the infinite variety of life, 
of conscious existence, is not confined to earth and water ; that 
the scale, if it culminate, does not end in man — what of that? 
There are sounds ordinarily inaudible to human ears, invisible 
rays of light which can nevertheless be rendered visible. So 



82 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OP 

there might be, in the vast region of onr atmosphere, creatures 
whom under the common conditions of our and their daily exist- 
ence we can neither see nor feel, but who may, like the ultra-red 
and ultra-violet rays of the solar spectrum, be made otherwise 
perceptible to our senses. And if there were, what wonder 
and what matter? Is the thing per se incredible or impossible? 
Should it prove that some eyes can see a band within the violet 
of the rainbow, that some ears are sensitive to atmospheric 
beats too rapid for average human senses, would such excep- 
tions be called preternatural or supernatural? Grant that the 
supernatural is the impossible ; minds trained by scientific study 
should be above the folly of pronouncing things impossible 
because fools have called them supernatural. 

" That there are bounds not only to the known, but apparently 
to the knowable, spheres and modes of action beyond the cogni- 
zance of our senses, science is inclined not merely to admit, but 
to insist. The phenomena of consciousness, the conscious mind 
itself, are inscrutable, incomprehensible, not only to the acutest 
physiologist, but to physiological method. That between the 
nervous stimulus conveyed to the gray matter of the brain, 
and the mental impression coincident therewith in time and 
cause, there is an absolute, incomprehensible, immeasurable dis- 
tinction, as well as an unthinkable connection, is the last word 
of the latest scientific research. If there be something of which 
consciousness and thought are the attributes, as they must surely 
be attributes of something, and cannot, we are told, be physical 
functions of the gray matter of the brain — if, in a word, there 
be a soul, can the philosophers of to-day pronounce that the 
philosophy of old erred in holding the soul immortal? 

" And if the soul survive, if there be a spirit world in which 
thought and consciousness are what motion and sensation are to 
life in the flesh, is not that world a part of nature? Must we 
not suppose it ruled by law as strictly and certainly as this, and 
can the a priori methods so discredited in their application to 
physical be trusted so implicitly in psychical enquiry? Are we 
so justly confident in our conjectures, so sure what, if that 
world exist, must be its laws, as to say that none of its inhabi- 
tants, however deeply interested in those from whom they have 
just been parted, in wives, husbands, children, whose need of 
them they cannot forget, can ever be permitted to return, or, 
returning, ever make their presence known? If their presence 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' KEPOET. 83 

be recognized, impressed on the spirit, might we not expect by 
analogy that it should be represented to the senses ? A mental 
or physical impression on the sensorium reflects itself, as we 
know, in a corresponding external sensation; a shock to the 
optic ganglia is reflected outward as a flash of light ; a pressure 
on the upper course of a trunk nerve is felt as a tingling at its 
extremity; nay, felt in lost toes or amputated fingers. If a 
disembodied spirit could impress its presence on one still em- 
bodied, would not that impression, according to analogy, pro- 
duce on the senses the effect of an outward image, be realized 
through the brain and nerves, as a bodily form presented to the 
eyes and reflected on the retina? And if the rapping, table- 
dancing agencies should demonstrate their possession of intelli- 
gence, is it absolutely incredible and impossible that there may 
exist conscious creatures, living forms of matter impalpable to 
our senses, neither much wiser than elephants, nor much cleverer 
than monkeys? Need science be angered, need orthodoxy be. 
outraged, by the suggestion? 

" That the human mind, developed through such an infinite 
process of change and preparation, should exist but for a few 
years, and through those years be educated at such cost of pain 
and trial for no future use, is not a doctrine to which science, 
after its new and grand discovery of the conservation of energy, 
need cling with passionate obstinacy. That the vast region of 
the atmosphere, the infinitely vaster realms of ether, constantly 
traversed by the rays of solar and stellar light, heat, and chemi- 
cal stimulation, are utterly void of conscious, joyous life, may 
be true, but can hardly be called a priori certain or probable. 
That endless time and infinite space exist to no purpose — at 
least to no such purpose as that which has crammed every drop 
of water, every corner of earth, with teeming, enjoying, active 
being — hardly accords with the last discoveries of science, with 
the established analogies of nature. While the earth was the 
center of the universe, while the stars were lamps lit for man's 
benefit, or, as Whewell suggested, sparks struck off from the anvil 
on which our earth and sun were forged, while all was made for 
man, disbelief in life invisible to, unrecognizable by man might 
be a natural and logical inference. But if it seem probable that 
every star is a sun with planets of its own, every planet the 
destined abode, in time past, present, or future, of life as rich 
and various as earth's, it should surprise us less to learn that 



84 ADDENDUM TO THE REVLEW OF 

even within our own sphere the life cognizable to our senses is 
but a fraction of the whole, than to be assured that it is all. 
At any rate, the negative is not so obvious that we can safely 
base upon it a denial of all facts that look the other way, a 
contemptuous affirmation that there are no more things in heaven 
and earth than are dreamt of in our philosophy." 



THE SEYBEKT COMMISSIONERS' REPOBT. 85 



CHAPTER IV. 

" Be sure of it ; give me ocular proof/' 

Shakespeake's Othello. 

" And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, 
neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." 

Luke xvi. 31. 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission : I call your 
especial attention to the evidence contained in the follow- 
ing chapter. It is important for the reason that it affords 
unmistakable evidence of the existence of an invisible 
intelligent force, which purports to have once been a liv- 
ing being on earth, and which has preserved its individu- 
ality in the unknown world as distinctly as it did on this, 
and manifests itself in a manner that absolutely negatives 
the theory of Dr. Carpenter that the phenomenon is "un- 
conscious cerebration." See page 225 of m} T former book. 

The witness I now call is George E. Bishop, law stenog- 
rapher ; member (and in 1877 president) of the Law 
Stenographers' Association of the City of New York ; 
member (and in 1883 president) of the New York State 
Stenographers' Association ; foreign associate of the Short- 
hand Society, of London ; author of " Outlines of a Modi- 
fied Phonography," "Notes " thereto, and "Exact Phonog- 
raplry." I met this gentleman at Lily Dale, and, knowing 
that he received some remarkable communications in ste- 
nography, I requested him to have a plate made of one 
of his slates, and to write me a concise statement of his 
experiments, which he has kindly done. His account of 
his experience, with a fac-simile of one message he re- 
ceived, explain themselves. Gentlemen, you cannot ignore 



86 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

this evidence. Mr. Bishop is so well known, and his cred- 
ibility so far beyond suspicion, that the " Podsnapian ' ' 
method of disposing of a stubborn fact will avail you 
nothing here. If you are honestly searching after truth 
in your investigations, and are willing to recognize it when 
found, you will candidly examine this testimony and give 
it the consideration it deserves. Remember that the pub- 
lic will form its opinion of the facts you were appointed 
to investigate, and of your candor and honesty, without 
"fear, favor, or affection. " Neither your position as a 
body of scientific men, nor your social standing, will avail 
you or protect you against the just indignation of those 
who are the legatees of Henry Seybert. The sacred trust 
imposed upon you by the generous dead must be faithfully 
executed; and while the pleasure of "well doing" may 
be a new sensation to you, its very novelty will doubtless 
enhance the enjoyment on your part, as a new viand is 
relished by the palled taste of an epicure far more than 
the familiar products of his accustomed cuisine. 

Letter of George R. Bishop. 

New York, Jan. 8, 1889. 
Hon. A. B. Richmond : 

Dear Sir, — You have expressed a wish that I give you 
an account of the so-called " independent slate writing " 
that I saw at Cassadaga during my short stay there in the 
summer of 1888 : with that request I now comply. Of 
the place itself I had never heard till a few months before, 
when my wife informed me that a friend who had a cot- 
tage in course of erection on those grounds, had invited 
us to remain there for a few days. Concerning the geo- 
graphical location of the place, I took but little pains to 
inquire. I was told that it was in Chautauqua County, 
this State, not far from Jamestown and Chautauqua Lake, 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 87 

with the shores of which latter I had some desire to be- 
come better acquainted, and to visit especially the cele- 
brated summer settlement presided over by Dr. Vincent. 
Accepting the invitation named, we left Eastern New York 
early in August, went directly to Cassadaga, and remained 
just one week. It was toward the end of that week that 
I first made your acquaintance. 

Going to such a place, confronted at almost every turn 
with the sign of some one claiming to be possessed of the 
peculiar gifts or powers which I am informed is one of the 
purposes of the Cassadaga Association to encourage and 
cultivate, — the signs, however, bearing names all of which 
were new to me, — hearing, too, reports of strange things 
said and done through the influence, or at least in the 
presence, of those persons, we should have shown an in- 
difference and lack of curiosity entirely uncharacteristic 
of native-born Americans had we failed to make the at- 
tempt to see some of the phenomena of which we heard. 
Of this particular phenomenon of slate writing, I had 
never before seen or attempted to see anything ; so we 
decided that our principal effort should be to witness 
something of that description. 

I can see no occasion for going, in this letter, beyond a 
mere statement of facts. Even if I went so far as to 
formulate a theory, that, whatever it were, would be less 
interesting and less important than the facts themselves. 
There is such a dangerous precipitancy on the part of 
most observers of phenomena, in rushing to conclusions, 
and constructing theories and philosophies in the most sum- 
mary way, that I feel like laying a strong hand on any pre- 
disposition on my own part to fall into this error. I appre- 
ciate the saying of Faraday, " Occasionally and frequently 
the exercise of the judgment ought to end in absolute reser- 
vation" ; though I also appreciate his further remark, " It 
may be distasteful, and a great fatigue to suspend a con- 



88 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

elusion." As to the observation of the facts themselves, 
and the statement of them, I like, however, equally well 
the saying of the old English doctor, Sydenham (whom 
Dr. O. W. Holmes quotes) : " Tis none of my business 
to inquire what other persons think, but to establish my 
own observations." 

In making the observations, a brief account of which I 
am to give you, I took as good care as I could to guard 
against being deceived. I think I was aided in this by 
some knowledge of the principles governing the eliciting 
of legal evidence as given in the books, and many years' 
observation of their practical application ; my familiarity 
with the enunciation of those principles not being confined 
quite to the ordinary sources of knowledge, but fortified 
by familiarity with a most admirable discussion and com- 
parison of the application of the principles of induction 
and deduction to juridical, as contrasted with scientific 
inquiries and investigations, in Mr. Justice Fitz James 
Stephen's 50-page "Introduction to the Indian Evidence 
Act" (London, Calcutta and Bombaj-, 1872), a copy of 
which work (very few ever having been brought to this 
country) I was fortunate enough to have purchased when 
it was first issued. I had also further inducements in the 
direction of caution, by familiarity with the criticisms of 
the late Professor Jevons (in Principles of Science) , on 
my old favorites, the "Experimental Methods" of the 
Inductive Logic, the canons of which are so fully set forth 
in the treatises of John Stuart Mill and Professor Bain ; 
his criticism on the Methods of Agreement, Difference, 
and Concomitant Variations; also, some of his sugges- 
tions on the subject of Hypotheses. But really, the phe- 
nomena that I am about to describe seemed very simple, 
under the careful scrutiny that I gave them, and may be 
set forth in very plain language. 

We succeeded in making engagements with three of the 






' THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 89 

"gifted" persons referred to, taking the precaution to 
withhold our correct names, and preparing for the sittings 
with new slates of oar own purchasing, duly initialing the 
frame of each one, to guard agaiust any possibility of the 
substituting of others for them. The first visit of the 
kind that was made by either of us, was one made by my 
wife alone, to a lady who was said to be somewhat dis- 
tinguished in connection with this phenomenon of slate 
writing, which visit, as my wife told me, was resultless ; 
as was also a second, made to the same lady two or three 
days later, by my wife and myself together. Almost 
immediately after that first visit of my wife, and before 
that second visit which we made together, we visited Mr. 
P. L. 0. A. Keeler, with whom an appointment (without 
any disclosure of names) had been arranged. As this 
" sitting" was the one at which was had the writing, an 
account of which you desire, perhaps I should say that 
the cottage occupied by Mr. K. was a two-story one, or, 
more strictly, a cottage of one sfouy and a very high attic, 
fronting on and very near the main road leading through 
the grounds. Mrs. Keeler and her boy, of perhaps three 
years, were below on the verandah, except when the boy 
came up stairs, and sometimes wandered into the room 
where we were. The room in which we sat — into which 
the August sunlight of the early afternoon streamed 
through a pretty large window opening, from which the 
sash had been removed — was not lathed or plastered, 
and contained no mirror that I could discover. I was 
informed by Mr. Keeler, that the chances of success 
would probably be increased if I sat with him alone ; so 
my wife remained in the reception or sitting-room down 
stairs. I asked Mr. K. for directions as to mode of pro- 
cedure, being wholly ignorant of the conditions supposed 
to be requisite for obtaining such writing. He told me to 
write, each on a separate slip, the names of about half a 



90 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

dozen people, some male, and some female, whom I had 
known when living, but who had departed this life, with 
any questions I might think of, the names to be written 
in full, except middle initials. He then withdrew from 
that room into the next. I then, while alone in the room, 
proceeded to write my names with pencil, on slips of a 
rather heavy, poor quality of very opaque writing-paper, 
which slips I tore from a pad jjhat Mr. K. handed me be- 
fore his leaving the room. 

In writing on my slips, — that is, the names and the 
questions, — I followed his directions. I wrote several 
questions, putting portions of two of them in phonogra- 
phy ; the name written at the head of each of those two 
slips being that of a person who had been familiar with 
such writing, though of very different adaptations or mod- 
ifications of the phonographic system. I then folded the 
slips, crumpled them, and rolled them so that the writing 
was inside, and was wholly invisible. Shortly afterward 
Mr. Keeler returned to the room. He took a seat with 
me, but facing me, sitting on the opposite side of the little 
table at which I was already seated. He passed one of 
his hands over the folded slips several times, a few inches 
above them, not touching them at all. We then, at his 
suggestion, took two of the slates (they were of poor 
quality, grayish rather than jet black in color) which 
were held together with rubber bands ; he, putting a 
small bit of slate pencil between them, suggested that 
they should be more tightly tied together, and I tied them 
as closely as I could with my large silk handkerchief. 

We sat for a few minutes (the slips with the names on 
in the meantime lying between us, unopened, on the table), 
when he suggested that I write the names of one or two 
other ladies, — some whom I knew to be no longer living, 
— as the male influence seemed to be stronger than the 
female. I did this. The slates in the meantime lay on 



REPORT. 91 

the table before and between us, with the handkerchief 
all the while tied round them in the manner described. I 
took pains to hold the last two slips on which I wrote in 
such a position that the writing could not be seen b} 7 Mr. 
Keeler. I wrote in a rather formal, perfunctory, mechan- 
ical way, the writing itself significant of little beyond the 
names ; and my attention was divided between this and 
noticing that my slips, as previously written, and then 
lying on the table, were not disturbed, and that the slates 
were left untouched. Having written these two, I placed 
the last written slips, as folded up, on the table with the 
others. At this time Mr. Keeler suggested that it might 
help if he asked the assistance of his "control." He 
then wrote a slip which, from the looser and more careless 
folding of it, I could all the while distinguish from the 
others, and dropped it in with the other wads. As he did 
this he asked ' ' George " (he said that was the name of 
his " control") to assist as well as he could. 

These preliminaries having been disposed of, we took 
the slates, resting our elbows on the table, holding the 
slates, as already tied together (they had not been untied), 
about a foot above the table, right in the strong light of 
early afternoon. In a few moments I heard what seemed 
to be a movement of the bit of pencil between the slates, 
apparently an easy, steady, flowing movement, accompa- 
nied by just a slight trembling of his hands, which I could 
not quite overcome by steady holding. Shortly before the 
sound of what appeared to be the scratching of the pencil 
ceased, I noticed the sound as of a peculiar movement of 
the pencil, as if single, rather more deliberately traced 
marks were being made, with a distinct putting down of 
the pencil several times as if dotting i's. Then there was 
a little more scratching, with a movement similar to that 
which was observed when the scratching began. Then Mr. 
Keeler, with a kind of convulsive shudder, and apparently 



92 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

in some wa}- considerably exercised, said, "Turn it over, 
turn it over ! " In obedience to this the slates were re- 
versed, the bottom side being brought to the top, the bands 
and handkerchief not being loosened. I grasped the two 
corners that were nearest to me tightly, as before ; he 
seemed to be grasping the two opposite ones equally tightly; 
and what seemed like writing with the pencil was resumed, 
this time with much greater force and energy, with a sound 
of the pencil that was about as loud, it seemed to me, as 
one could produce with a pencil, writing on a common 
stone slate. At the end of this movement there was a 
movement as if writing single letters, then a word, and at 
the end quite a violent twist as if with a final explosion of 
muscular energy. Writing was then again resumed, but 
more quietly and lightly than even the first writing, before 
the slates were reversed, had been, and in very strong 
contrast to the last preceding. This ended, Mr. Keeler 
said, " Well, they are gone. You can see now what you 
have." Up to this time my slips of paper had been un- 
disturbed, his own lying with them. He now took up his 
own, which was easily distinguished from the others by 
the indicia before mentioned, not touching mine. 

I opened the slates, and found three writings, in three 
different hands, — each signed by a name that I had 
written on my (thus far) unopened slips. The three writ- 
ings, together, pretty well covered the inside surfaces of 
both the slates : the one, an engraved reproduction of 
which, omitting the signature, I send you, occupied one ; 
the other two were on the other slate. The other two 
writings, as to distinctness and legibility relatively to the 
legibility and distinctness of this one, somewhat differed ; 
the one that occupied the central part of the slate, and 
the signature to which ended with a flourish, was written 
in a large, bold hand ; it was more legible than the one 
reproduced ; the other, which was on the margin, below 



THE SEYBEET COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 93 

the other, and upside down, relatively to the other, was 
written with great evenness and regularity, very com- 
pactly and finely, and was not so legible, to me as were 
the two larger specimens. This most minute one and the 
one reproduced were signed with the full first names and 
surnames, and the middle initials, corresponding exactly 
to two names written on the unopened slips ; the bojder 
and larger one was signed with the surname, preceded by 
the first and the middle initial, of the name on another of 
the slips — the first name having been written in full on 
the slip itself, while on the slate only the initial of the 
first name appeared. This last-mentioned slip was the 
second one on which shorthand had been written ; but the 
slate writing signed with this name contained nothing 
in shorthand. With the exception of the name (which I 
omit) , it was : "I am glad to come here and write a word 
or two. I have much to tell you when I can. But I can- 
not write it ; I must talk it. Keep up your examination of 
this truth." The third one, which was on the same side 
of the same slate as that copied above, but written the 
other side up, as already mentioned, was (excepting the 
name, which I also omit) : "This is wonderful, isn't it? 
I am alive yet. I have been here before. Tell it those 
I know." 

Mr. Keeler evinced considerable curiosity as to the 
shorthand writing ; said he had never had anything of 
the kind on a slate before ; whereupon, I told him that my 
question on the slip containing the name that he could see 
signed below the shorthand on the slate, had been written 
partly in a similar style of writing. I then picked out 
from the still folded slips one which I thought contained 
such writing ; opening, however, one of those that I did 
not want, and which had no shorthand on it, before get- 
ting the right one. Unfolding the second one that I 
picked up, it being the one I wanted, I showed it to him, 



94 ADDENDUM. 

to let him see bow my question had been written. These 
two were the only ones I opened in his presence ; the five 
or six others I put in my vest pocket, unopened, and 
some days afterward opened them, to make sure that they 
were the identical slips I had written, — which I recognized 
them as being. 

The engraved reproduction sent you was made from the 
slate itself. On taking it to my photo-engraver, I was 
informed that the slates were so gray, as contradistin- 
guished from a jet black, and the pencil marks on that 
grayish surface were so lacking in sharpness, that a direct 
reproduction could not be successfully obtained ; that the 
proper way was to photograph the slate and writing, get 
what is called the " silver point" for tracing, trace over 
the writing with Indian ink, bleach out the gray back- 
ground, and then do the photo-engraving. This course 
was pursued, the tracing being done by myself with the 
greatest possible care. After the completing of this tracing, 
I found that the white or "silver" lines had not been 
entirely covered at every point, the pencil marks which 
had been photographed having been broader at such points 
than the ink-tracing over them ; and I made no effort to 
broaden those penned lines to cover the whole of the white 
lines where they were thus broad. The reproduction, 
therefore, in the respect and to the extent that there was 
this occasional variance in width of line, fails of perfect 
exactness ; beyond that, it is, as nearly as was practica- 
ble, a facsimile. 

The above is merely a narration of facts, excluding, so 
far as could readily be done, inferences and conclusions. 
You may possibly expect me, as being presumably an 
expert on shorthand matters, to give you a few observa- 
tions on that part of the slate writing. Here, however, 
I think the mere statement of the relevant facts will be 
sufficient.' The person whose name was correctly signed 



96 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

to the slate writing that has been reproduced by engraving 
had been a shorthand writer of a good deal of expertness, 
having begun to learn what we know as the " Graham" 
adaptation of the Pitman Phonography, and having, after 
proceeding with that for a time, changed to, and acquired 
good proficiency in, the "Munson" adaptation of the same 
fundamental system. In writing the question which was 
headed with this person's name, I made it a point to employ 
the signs of the last-named adaptation ; that is, that with 
which the person whose name was written had been the 
more familiar. The line of shorthand that was on this 
slate, and which is reproduced in the engraving, is not, 
except as to the word " to," that in which this greater 
proficiency had been attained ; in those respects in which 
the two adaptations differ it is that which this person 
studied for a short time, then relinquished. It was, how- 
ever, that which I myself had formerly for years written, 
and of which this person had seen a good deal while actu- 
ally using the other adaptation. The sentence in pho- 
nography reads, " I am happy to see both." It is the 
"vocalization," so called, or writing in of the little vowel 
signs, which is not, at points at which the two adaptations 
differ, according to the more familiar " Munson" adapta- 
tion, but to the " Graham," this applying to the dots in 
"am" and "see." The h in "happy" is the Graham h, though 
in that word the proficient user of the system would almost 
invariably omit it, as being unnecessary. It would hardly 
be in accordance with the intention I am following in writ- 
ing this narration — that is, the intention to exclude theory 
and hypothesis — to even suggest that this might, under 
certain conditions, have seemed like a "return of the 
compliment" ; that is, that, appreciating that I had, with 
some effort, written in that shorthand which would have 
been in life most familiar to this person, an effort had been 
made, on the other side, to write that with which I had 



THE SEYBEBT COMMISSIONERS' BEPOBT. 97 

been most familiar, the effort being successful except in 
the sign for " to" ; nor to comment on the fact that one 
■who, like this person, had gone but little way with the 
"Graham" system, might insert the h, as was done in 
this case, where one more proficient would have omitted 
it ; and I purposely avoid expressing an opinion on those 
points. I do not see that the ability to form a judgment 
on them is necessarily conditioned on the possession of 
extensive "stenographic" knowledge. I can state as a 
fact, however, that the " vocalization" signs are verj- ac- 
curately placed, and all the signs are very well written, 
except that the lower part of the h sign, instead of being 
a hook, is closed or "looped"; and the s sign in " see" is 
brought round too far to the left, so that it is the sign for 
sh, not s, giving, speaking accurately, the word " she," not 
"see." In actual writing this slight change of form might 
happen. As a phonographer, this combining, in this single 
line of shorthand, in a way in which they would not usually 
be combined, of peculiarities of these two different adap- 
tations of the one fundamental phonographic system, quite 
forcibly attracted my attention. The vocalization of the 
words " am" and " see" quite reverses the "positions " of 
the "Munson" shorthand, while the sign for "to" is that 
of the "Munson" adaptation, and quite different from the 
" Graham" sign. 

I have mentioned that the signature to the longer of 
the other two writings contained only the first and middle 
initials preceding the surname. Perhaps I ought also to 
say that the person whose name was thus signed almost 
always, if not invariably, signed his name with merely 
those initials and the surname. There was also, at the 
end of this signature, a flourish that certainly bore a strong 
resemblance to that with which this person habitually fin- 
ished his signature. 

The writing which was reproduced in the engraving we 



98 ADDENDUM TO THE BEVIEW OF 

still have on the slate, minus the signature, which I rubbed 
out before handing the slate over to the engraver to be 
photographed. Having passed through his hands, and 
been carried up and down town since being brought with 
us to the city in September, it is somewhat indistinct, 
though still legible. Of the other two specimens obtained 
at the same sitting, no reproduction has been attempted ; 
hence they have been more perfectly preserved. To those 
the signatures are still attached. 

At a subsequent sitting more shorthand was written, 
some of which was legible, while two or three of the signs 
I did not decipher. Of this latter writing I have not made 
a very careful examination. The signature to it was in 
shorthand, the name being the same as that signed in long- 
hand to the specimen which you have an engraving of. 
Both these facts were true of a specimen obtained through 
Mr. Will. A. Mansfield, some of the body of which pre- 
ceding the signature was legible, some not. The slate 
containing this last we did not bring away with us. Mr. 
Mansfield warned us beforehand that success was doubt- 
ful, as he was nervous and worn out. 

Possibly I ought to add, in view of questions that might 
occur to a reader, that during all the "sitting" and writ- 
ing above described, I purposely permitted the names 
written, the writing of my questions, and the matter of 
those questions, to become as completely fused, mingled, 
and de-individualized in my own mind as possible, in order 
that, if there was such a thing as "mind-reading," this 
could not be availed of in the answering of my questions. 
Fixing my attention closely on the whole modus operandi 
of the performance that followed, seeing that my slips 
were not interfered with, and that the slates were kept 
tightly together, would necessarily remove my thought 
from the contents of the slips themselves, and of those 
of one as contrasted with those of any others. 



HE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 99 

I think I have now given you- the facts, in such detail 
and with such definiteness that no one seeing the state- 
ment will feel the need of opening correspondence with 
me, and asking questions. I am so engrossingly occupied 
with my own matters that I should certainly feel obliged 
to decline entering into further correspondence on the 
subject with anybody. 

Very respectfully, 

Geo. R. Bishop. 



100 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 



CHAPTER V. 

FAITH, HOPE, AND DEMONSTRATION. 

A Story of the Mammoth Cave. 

" Then faith shall fail, and holy hope shall die ; 
One lost in certainty, and one in holy joy." 

Prior. 

" Hope ! fortune's cheating lottery, 

Where for one prize an hundred blanks there be." 

Cowley. 

' ' What good does a belief in Spiritualism do ? " inquired 
a reverend friend of me the other day. "Is not the hope 
and faith of the Christian all-sufficient to satisfy the long- 
ings of the human soul ? " 

' ' What good does a belief in Spiritualism do ? " I re- 
plied, interrogatively. "Does it not confirm the Christian's 
hope and faith ? Does it not exchange doubt for certainty, 
and is it not good to give positive knowledge of safety 
where hope may fail and faith become weakened by doubt 
and uncertainty ? " 

My reverend friend passed on ; there was a look of 
commiseration on his face as he turned away. He evi- 
dently had no hope of my salvation, or faith in my pros- 
pects of happiness beyond the boundaries of the great 
"by-and-by." No, no! my heresy in asserting that a 
theory which he ardently preached, and believed through 
faith alone, was susceptible of demonstration, was in his 
charity a sin that deserved divine condemnation. Al- 
though the very foundation of his religious creed was a 
belief in immortality, based alone upon hope and faith, 
yet he rejected as a heresy that which demonstrated the 






THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 101 

fact of a future life. He could find abundance of conso- 
lation in hope and faith, but no comfort in positive cer- 
tainty. It is true that where there is no better evidence 
afforded, the human mind ofttimes is consoled with hope 
and faith. We hope for the best and may have faith that 
it will occur, yet all is uncertain, and the heart trem- 
bles with an anxiety and fear that positive certainty 
would overcome. 

Thirty years ago, in company with a number of ladies 
and gentlemen, I visited the Mammoth Cave in Kentucky. 
We entered its dark and silent avenues early one bright 
spring morning. Afternoon found us on the banks of the 
river Styx, five miles from the entrance of the cave. This 
stream is about fifty feet wide at the place where we 
reached its banks ; by the dim light of our lanterns we 
could trace its dark and sullen current several hundred 
feet to our right and left. It is very deep, and in the 
gloom of the surroundings its waters looked as black as 
those of the fabled Stygian river. 

A boat was moored to a rock on its bank. Our guide, 
a dark mulatto, and a slave owned by the estate that held 
the title to the cave lands, unloosened the chain that 
secured it, and invited a portion of our party to be 
seated therein. We hesitated a moment, gazed into 
the darkness beyond, listened to the wash of the turbid 
waters against the rocks along the banks, looked at the 
face of our guide, who was to play the part of Charon, 
and a feeling of awe crept over us. The gloom of our 
surroundings, the river, and the ferryman, with the con- 
sciousness that we were in the deep caverns of the earth, 
five miles from the light of day, the weird and fitful 
shadows cast upon the water by our lamps, all helped the 
illusion ; it seemed as if we were about to invade the 
realms of Pluto, and I would not have been surprised to 
have heard from out the darkness the stern challenge that 



102 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

greeted iEneas on the banks of Cocytus, "By what right 
do living mortals approach this shore ?" A moment only 
for imagination to weave its fantastic imagery, when the 
illusion was broken by the pleasant voice of old Mat, — 
" Step in, ladies and gemmen. She's safe as a Mis-sis-sip 
steamboat, and as staunch as a church. I'll set ye on 
odder side in a minnit, safe and sound." Verily, this was 
not Charon — and we were not in Avernus, the fabled 
realms of so many of the living dead. 

Thrice the boat crossed the river, and all our party were 
on the "other shore." We spent two hours in the enjoy- 
ment of our lunch and the examination of the wonderful 
stalactite and stalagmite formations with which the cave 
abounded. When the time came for our return, a merry, 
laughing group approached the spot where our boat had 
been drawn up, with its bow on the beach to prevent its 
floating off. Old Mat reached the bank a short distance 
ahead of us, when we heard him exclaim : — 

" De good Lord help us ! de boat is clean gone ! " 
For a moment we did not fully appreciate the awful 
import of his words, but on approaching the river we dis- 
covered that the water had risen nearly two feet, and our 
boat had floated away into the darkness beyond all hope 
of recovery. We did not at first realize our danger ; but 
the guide explained that at this season of the year the 
stream was subject to the sudden rising of its waters ; 
and that we were in a room in the cave from which there 
was no other avenue of egress than the one by which we 
came, and that we must cross the river or remain impris- 
oned until the waters subsided ; and that sometimes the 
waters filled the room we were in nearly to its ceiling. 
There was no chance for an escape in our rear ; we were 
hemmed in by a solid wall of rocks behind and around us, 
while before us were the swift, deep waters of the Styx, 
which we imagined we could perceive reaching higher and 



REPORT. 103 

higher up the sloping bank on which we stood, even while 
we watched its sullen flow. 

Our brave guide, who owned nothing in the world but 
his immortal soul, endeavored to quiet our alarm with 
encouraging words and explanations. He said there was 
another boat a half a mile up the stream moored to the 
opposite shore, and that by swimming the river — if the 
avenues were not yet flooded — he could reach the boat and 
bring it down to us. He directed us to return to the spot 
where we had eaten our lunch and gather up the broken 
fragments that we had thrown away, and preserve them 
for our sustenance, should he be unable to reach the boat, 
and we remained imprisoned until the water subsided, 
which he assured us would be in course of two or three 
days at the farthest. He also directed us to extinguish 
all our lamps but one, that we might husband the oil 
as well as our food. He assured us that we should be 
rescued if he lived to reach the boat. He directed us to 
keep one of our lamps burning as long as we had a sup- 
ply of oil, that it might be a beacon light that would 
assist him in finding us on his return. He also pointed 
out to us the highest point of the floor of the cave, to 
which we were to retreat when driven by the rising waters. 
He said it would take him an hour to reach the boat, and 
nearly another to return ; then fastening his lamp to the 
top of his hat, he plunged into the stream, and in a few 
moments reached the opposite shore, when, giving us a 
few words of encouragement, he disappeared in the dark- 
ness of one of the avenues that seemed to run nearly 
parallel with the course of the river. 

Only two of the gentlemen of our party beside myself 
could swim, and had we been alone we would have fol- 
lowed our guide and secured our safety ; but there were 
three who could not, and five ladies, the wives and daugh- 
ters of my companions, and of course we could not 



104 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIBW OF 

desert them ; and even if we had crossed the stream, 
without the assistance of our guide, whose duty was to 
rescue the helpless, we would soon have been lost in the 
labyrinths of the cavern, and in danger of falling into 
some unknown chasm had we strayed from the usual safe 
avenues that led from the river to the entrance of the cave. 
No ; our only safety was in the successful exertions of our 
faithful guide. We seated ourselves on the rocks, and 
attempted to cheer each other with the ordinary topics of 
conversation, but the awful dangers that surrounded us 
almost paralyzed our tongues. We all had an abundance 
of faith in the courage and fidelity of old Mat, our guide. 
Hope also whispered its cheering words in our willing 
ears ; yet, notwithstanding our faith and hope, we feared 
the worst. Our guide might not be able to reach the 
boat ; we knew that great dangers beset his pathway, and 
why should he, a human chattel — 

" Who, born beneath life's burden to groan, 
Never once dreamed that his soul was his own," — 

why should he risk his life for us? Some accident might 
prevent his return ; the boat might have been washed 
away ; ten thousand surmises passed through our minds, 
as the lingering moments — which seemed hours in length 
— moved on with leaden feet. At last our hope began to 
falter, and our faith to loose its confidence. We could 
see that the dark water of the river was steadily rising, 
and that if succor did not soon come, in a few hours we 
would be imprisoned, we knew not how long, between the 
river and the rocky walls that surrounded us. By the 
dim light of our lamp we looked at our watches. What ! 
was it possible that the long, long ages of our suspense 
were registered in the short half-hour indicated by the 
leaden movements of their almost motionless hands? 
Could it be that these unerring sentinels of passing time 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 105 

counted the minutes as swiftly as they did the evening 
before, when in the parlor of the hotel, a gay party had 
assembled — 

"To chase the glowing hours with flying feet"? 

Are the ceaseless footfalls of passing time always the 
same as they measure the fleeting moments of joy, or the 
lingering hours of suffering and woe ? It does not seem 
possible. No ! Time moves with each of us slowly or 
swiftly as it brings to us pain or pleasure, as it hastens 
the approach of those we love, or speeds the parting 
hour. 

Again we waited long, long ages for the sound of our 
rescuer's return. Hope yet told a flattering tale, but it 
was whispered into unlistening ears. Faith lent its cheer- 
ing assurance, yet our hearts throbbed with the uncer- 
tainty of its prophecies. We had faith in our guide and 
hope that he would succeed in reaching the boat. Yet 
doubt whispered, He is only a chattel ; he does not even 
own his wife and children or himself ; nothing but life and 
its sensual enjoyments ; why, then, should he risk that 
for us, to whom he owed nothing but the fetters which we 
had helped to forge, by sustaining the laws that made him 
a slave ? Another half -hour passed, and doubt and fear 
had almost silenced both hope and faith. Reason as we 
would, it did not lessen the dangers that surrounded us, 
for our reason might be in fault and our faith a broken 
staff. Oh, what would we have given for the faintest of 
demonstrative evidence ? The rap or sound of a distant 
falling oar would have turned our agony of uncertainty 
into the very exuberance of joy, for we would have known 
that there was an intelligence directing the fall of the oar, 
and that design accompanied that intelligence. 

Swiftly the encroaching waters crept up the bank 
toward us, and as each succeeding wave came farther 



106 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

and farther up the floor of our living grave, two of our 
party became almost frantic with fear. Hope had lost its 
consoling power, while faith no longer cheered us with its 
uncertain support ; when, suddenly in the distance, and 
the darkness, to our right we saw a feeble ray of light. 
Soon we heard the sound of oars. The light grew 
stronger, the sound louder. What cared we for hope and 
faith — here was demonstrative evidence. A light kindled 
by intelligence in the gloom of the cavern, a sound whose 
measured cadence needed not hope and faith to convince 
us that it was the result of an intelligent action, informed 
us that we were saved ; and we were not more certain 
when a few moments after, the boat guided by old Mat, 
emerged from the surrounding gloom, than we were a few 
moments before when a ray of light and the sound of an 
oar falling in the water, told us with unerring truth that 
all danger was past, and that soon we would safely reach 
" the other shore." 

We greeted our trusty guide with a shout of welcome. 
When he had moored the boat near us, and proceeded to 
light our extinguished lamps, he said : — 

" I saw dis wicked water was risin' very fast, and was 
afeard it would be so high that I could not get under 
' hangin' rock,' — an 'twas a tight squeeze ; an' I was 
afeard you would be drownded, but I hoped fer de bes\ 
But now, bless God, I knows you's all right, and dis ole 
darkie is happy. An' we'll get home to late, supper 
anyhow." 

And we did ; but the scenes of that awful hour and a 
half when we sat in the gloomy cave, uncertain whether 
life or death awaited us, has come to me in my sleep like 
a horrible nightmare ; and since then I have had no diffi- 
culty in determining the difference in effect on the human 
mind between hope and faith and the certainty of demon- 
stration. 






REPORT. 107 

How like the story of the cave is the drama of life ! 
The race of man is standing on the very brink of the 
Stygian river, environed by the impregnable walls of one 
common doom. In front is the dark stream that bounds 
the limits of human life. Day by day we see its waters 
approach nearer and nearer. Certain as fate, and 
remorseless as its decrees, it slowly creeps up the treach- 
erous sands on which we stand. Daily by our side it 
reaches those dear to us. Uncounted millions of the 
past have been engulfed by its ceaseless flood. We know 
that we cannot escape from its deadly embrace. Beyond 
the river all is enshrouded in an impenetrable gloom ; 
a dread and dreary uncertainty, through which neither 
hope nor faith can penetrate, envelopes all the country 
of the dead. We stand appalled on the brink of eternity 
and its unknown possibilities. With life, its endearments 
and affections around us, and the unknown before us, 
how gloomy is the ending even of the most virtuous and 
upright lives ! As in this life we have so often hoped for 
blessings that never came, so may be our longing for a 
future existence. As in this life faith has made us so 
many promises never realized, so may it be in its assur- 
ances of a life hereafter. Oh, for some demonstration 
that would carry conviction to every mind ! for some 
feeble ray of light from out of the gloom beyond ! for 
some faint sound that would tell us with certainty that 
over there was life and intelligence ! How longingly do 
we listen for the now silent footfall that once made glad 
our home ! for the whispered words of love and remem- 
brance whose tones were once the music of our lives ! 
Faith hears them not, neither does hope return even their 
answering echo. The silence of the grave envelops our 
dead, and all that saint, sage, or sophist ever wrote fails 
to give us that certainty that alone can assuage the grief 
of bereaved affection. 



108 ADDENDUM TO THE EBVIEW OF 

Of all the blessings conferred by a benevolent Creator 
on sorrowing man, the greatest wonld be demonstrate 
evidence of a fntnre beyond the dark river that crosses 
he pathway of all onr race. It wonld lighten the burden 
of every life, and gladden every heart ; for we wonld then 
kn0W that we wonld cross that river in safety, and that 
the gloom of the dark cavern before us only ~^"J^J" 
snnlight of God's love ; that beyond was a world of spirit 
existence, of a continuity of life, affection, and friend- 
ship ; that •« death would be swallowed up m the Victory 
of immortality, and all tears wiped away." But no creed 
gives this assurance; no theory of philosophy conclusively 
proves its truth; no uncertain revelation of the Past no 
dogma founded on hope and faith alone can make certain 
the solution of the great problem that is hidden in the 
"windowless palace of death." Demonstration alone 
can satisfy the thinking mind, and if it is not found in 
the phenomena of Spiritualism, even the continuity of 
life is doubtful, our future an unsolved enigma , ; and it is 
probable that, the infidel sentiments propagated by the 
Seybert Commissioners are true, and that 



"we are such stuff 
As dreams are made on, Mid our little life 
Is rounded with a sleep." 






THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS* REPORT. 109 



CHAPTER VI. 

SUMMARY. 

Argumentum ad Hominem. 

' ' Examples I could cite you more ; 
But be contented with these four ; 
For when one's proofs are aptly chosen, 
Four are as valid as four dozen." 

Prior's Alma. 

Gentlemen of the Jury : In my arraignment of the 
Seybert Commission, I have attempted in the foregoing 
pages to offer evidence of the existence of an intelligent 
force that purports to be the spirits of our departed dead. 
The fact of this existing intelligence can be, and is proven 
as clearly as any phenomena known to science. Surely 
the number of able scientists whose testimony I have 
given in the first chapter of this addendum ought to be 
sufficient to establish the existence of a fact. If the life 
of a fellow-being was involved in this issue, would you 
hesitate in finding a verdict of guilty, if the crime was as 
clearly proven by their evidence as are the phenomena 
they testify to ? 

The answer of the disbeliever to this proposition is that 
murder is a probable event, one that is known to have 
frequently happened ; but that the phenomena of spiritu- 
alism are impossible because supernatural, and that the 
supernatural cannot be satisfactorily proven by human 
testimony to have happened. Herein is the error : that 
any event that ever occurred was supernatural is an 
assertion unsustained by testimony, incapable of proof, 
and in direct opposition to all the teachings and demon- 



110 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

strations of science. The thinking mind can hardly con- 
ceive that a Being who is Himself the source and embodi- 
ment of all law, and who governs by His laws the move- 
ments of atoms as well as worlds, could cause an act to 
be done or a phenomenon to occur which was above all 
laws. 

" It cannot be but Nature has some director of infinite 
power to guide her in all her ways," says Richard Hooker, 
one of the greatest of English theologians ; and what are 
natural laws but the directions given to all created things 
by that infinite power ? 

It is evident that all effects must be preceded by a 
cause and design. These are but other names for the 
laws that mould and fashion the effect, and, proceeding 
from one common source, they cannot be supernatural, or 
above the source from which they emanate. If an event 
was to happen above law, what would cause it? We 
know of no existences save matter, its properties, and the 
laws that govern it ; and it is impossible to conceive of 
an element without form, one tha£ has no properties, and 
is subservient to no law. It is therefore impossible to 
conceive of the supernatural because it ignores all law, is 
above it, and seemingly is 

"Begot of nothing but vain fantasy." 

All we see, or hear, or feel, and know, are but natural 
phenomena governed by laws which, though unknown to 
us, are yet subjects of scientific research and within the 
possibilities of discovery. When a mind capable of inves- 
tigating observes a phenomenon, its cause immediately be- 
comes the subject of thoughtful reflection. In the solution 
of the problem we reason from the known to the unknown. 
Accepting well-established or admitted facts, we reason 
from the premises they afford us to the conclusions that 
logically follow. If, therefore, spirit life is a conceded 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIOTSTERS' REPORT. Ill 

fact by the Christian world, and phenomena occur which 
science cannot explain, but which can be accounted for 
by the presence of spirit life and intelligence, are we not 
bound by every principle of logical deduction to accept 
the theory that alone solves the problem? Should we 
reject it on the plea that future science may discover an- 
other solution of the mystery? As well might we reject 
that solution when it comes on the probabilities of yet 
future discoveries, and so on ad infinitum ; and verily 
there would be no truths outside of the sphere of mathe- 
matics. 

There was a time in the history of our race when man- 
kind did not understand what was meant by natural laws. 
The world of primitive man was peopled with gods, de- 
mons, and spirits of different powers and occupying dif- 
ferent ranks in the celestial court. All unexplained 
phenomena were attributed to them. JEolus raised the 
ocean into billows with his breath, while Neptune, in his 
shell drawn by dolphins, rode in triumph over the storm- 
lashed waters. All the passions and virtues of men were 
attributed to some malignant or amiable spirit. The wars 
of nations, the victories and defeats of armies, were but 
the powers of the gods inciting men to battle, rapine, and 
murder. The universe was governed by no law but 
that of the arbitrary decrees or caprice of the innumer- 
able gods or demons of mythology. 

With advancing time came knowledge, civilization, and 
enlightenment. Science discovered natural laws. Their 
existence was at first denied by the creeds and dogmas of 
men. Knowledge advanced until it was demonstrated, 
even to unwilling minds, that an inflexible code regulated 
all motion ; and now science is but the expounder of those 
laws, and positively asserts the great truth that they gov- 
ern all phenomena, from the floating of an atom of dust 
in the summer air to the movements of the planets in 



112 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

their orbits ; from the faint motion of life in the monad 
to its development in man. The sphere of the operation 
of natural laws is of course bounded only by the limits 
of the universe. There is not a movement in its vast 
domain but is governed by laws that are as unchangeable 
as Deity Himself. 

The learned Henry Drummond, F.R.S.E., in his "Nat- 
ural Law in the Spirit World" asks the significant ques- 
tion. Is there not reason to believe that many of the laws 
of the Spiritual World hitherto regarded as occupying an 
entire separate province, are simply the laws of the natural 
world ? And he farther asserts that, " If there is any foun- 
dation for theology, or of the phenomena of the Spiritual 
World, in the nature of things they ought to come into the 
sphere of Law. Such is at once the demand of science upon 
religion, and the prophecy that it can and shall be fulfilled." 

If one was asked to prove the existence of spirit life, 
it would have to be done as we prove natural life in man, 
by the existence of force and intelligence ; without these 
there would be no evidence of life. With the positive 
proof of force and intelligence life is demonstrated to 
exist. We may neither see nor feel it, yet we know it 
is there if it manifests itself by intelligent action that 
communicates ideas to us ; and it matters not what may 
be the method of communication. It is the same to us 
whether thought be uttered by the tongue of the orator, 
the pen of the ready writer, or the click of the telegraph ; 
we only know that life and existence is there because of 
the force developed and the intelligence manifested. 

Now apply the logic of this reasoning to so-called spirit 
phenomena, and does it not prove conclusively that there 
is a spirit life and intelligence, and therefore a spirit 
world where it lives and moves and has its being ? This 
fact being established, why should we doubt its identity 
when it talks to us with the knowledge of events known 



REPORT. 113 

only to the communicating intelligence ; events which 
happened in this life and of which it alone was cognizant ? 
If the only intelligence that once knew of the happening 
of an event was dead, how could any power on earth 
narrate it ? If the force that operated that intelligence on 
earth was dead, how could that intelligence if living man- 
ifest itself except through a newly adopted force ? And 
even if that were so, and the intelligence once of earth is 
in the spirit world clothed with a new force, yet is the 
continuity of life and soul proven by the positive proof of 
the continuity of intellectual existence. 

Let us apply this reasoning to the evidence produced in 
this case, and determine the issue as we would any other 
of importance submitted to us. 

If my jury will now refer to experiment No. 1 of my 
Open Letter to the Seybert Commissioners, and note the 
testimony, they will see that what occurred as therein nar- 
rated proves conclusively, First, that it was not magic, for 
magic could not cause a pencil to write, or even move, when 
it was beyond the reach of human contact. Second, that 
there was an invisible force unknown to science that did 
move the pencil. Third, that that force was intelligent ; 
that it could see and feel and think and know that which 
at the time was unknown to either the sitter or the me- 
dium. Fourth, that it purported to be the incarnate spirit 
of the one whose name was written in his handwriting. 

Experiment No. 2 develops a still more wonderful fact. 
There the last interrogatory answered was in the pocket- 
book of the sitter. The slates were securely tied together, 
and the communication was written on them while the}' 
were violently shaken by him and held some distance 
from the medium. The writing was beautifully done, 
correctly spelled and punctuated ; some words italicized, 
conveying a meaning only known to the sitter and the one 
whose spirit it purported to be. 



114 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OP 

Yet more wonderful and inexplicable was experiment 
No. 3. The slates fastened together with screws, the 
medium not permitted to touch them, and both upper and 
lower slate covered with communications, one in Latin, 
one in Morse telegraphic characters, and the other signed 
by Henry Seybert, with the exact signature of the commu- 
nication obtained a year before through another medium, 
a photo-lithograph of which is shown at page 30 of my 
former review. Compare the signatures, the one shown 
on the slate in this addendum, and the one attached to the 
first communication. Also observe the similarity of the 
handwriting in the body of the communication ; notice 
that the dash of the t's are sometimes before the letter 
and sometimes after, but never across them. 

Is it possible that any candid mind can attribute this to 
magic? No power on earth known to man could accom- 
plish this feat. A skilled artist in forger} 7 , with a copy 
before him, assisted by all the appliances of his craft, 
would require considerable time to make so accurate a copy 
of the signature of H. Se3 T bert, and yet this was done on 
the inner surface of the upper slate, which the medium did 
not even touch, they being held by the sitter under the 
table-cloth while the communication was written. It is 
simply absurd to attempt to account for it in the manner 
in which the Seybert Commissioners explain the slate 
writing they witnessed. No "adroit fingers opened the 
slates," securely fastened together, and held by the sitter 
without possible contact with the medium, and wrote on 
their surface ; that was absolutely impossible, and yet an 
unseen intelligent force did so write, and that power pur- 
ported to be an incarnate spirit, and in the present state of 
our knowledge that is the only rational explanation that 
will apply to the facts. 

If the spirits of the dead once talked with men, who shall 
say with certainty that what has been may not be now, 



REPORT. 115 

and that what the Creator once permitted through His un- 
changing laws may not happen again? The Crumrinian 
test is well authenticated. The slates securely riveted 
together, sealed with private seals, marked with private 
marks, were held in open public view, — not touched by 
the medium, — and yet when opened, a long communica- 
tion was found written thereon, signed " Thomas Vree- 
land," which our good preacher believes was but a pseu- 
donym for JSatanas Didbolus. Verily, Gentlemen of the 
Seybert Commission, here j^our " trained habits of inves- 
tigation " would avail you nought. Your penny mirror, if 
used in your investigation here, would reflect nothing but 
ten products of the " gooseberry" in solemn conclave. 

But, Gentlemen of the Jury, I desire to call your espe- 
cial attention to the evidence embodied in Chapter IV. of 
this addendum. The witness is a gentleman of character 
and position well known in the world of letters ; not a 
Spiritualist, nor even a believer in its phenomena before 
the events he narrates, who offers no theory of explana- 
tion ; but in a truthful, candid, and intelligent manner, 
relates what he saw without feeling any interest in the 
issue now before this court. A synopsis of the facts he 
testifies to is as follows : — 

Communications in Phonography. 

The witness had a friend who had passed away several 
years before. When in this life, that friend had acquired 
considerable knowledge in the Graham adaptation of the 
Pitman phonography, but had become an expert in the 
Munson system, to which he had added some slight im- 
provements which were known only to the witness. That 
is, the witness could read the peculiar phonographic hand- 
writing of his friend, which no other living stenographer 
could. That friend could read and write the system in 



116 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

which the witness was expert, but was not an adept. 
Here then was the position of the parties : one had passed 
the mystic river ; the other was in the presence of the 
medium. The witness was familiar with the writing of 
his deceased friend. He wrote an interrogatory in the 
system best known to his friend, and received an answer, 
a portion of which was written in the phonography the 
witness generally used. Observe, Gentlemen of the Jury, 
here were two persons, one on each side of the boundary 
marked by death, between this and the future world. 
The witness wrote an interrogatory in the system used by 
his departed friend and received an answer written in his 
own. Of course there was no magic here ; there could 
have been none. No human power known to science 
could have written the communication. " But," says some 
wiseacre, — who probably hardly knows the meaning of the 
word, — "it was unconscious cerebration. Dr. Carpenter 
has explained all that : the medium reads the mind of the 
sitter." Not so ! for in the answer on the slates were errors 
which the sitter immediately detected and narrates in his 
testimony. It must be clear to every candid thinker that 
it was not his mind that directed the force that wrote, or 
the errors would not have occurred. But they were just 
such as a person not an expert in his system would be 
most likely to make. The friend of the witness, who had 
passed away, was not an expert, and the mistakes were 
such as he would probably make ; and when his name was 
signed to the communication, does it not afford convincing 
proof that he did write it? 

If it was not in reality the voice of the dead, whose was 
it? It spoke in the familiar tone of one who had passed 
away. It said it was the spirit of the departed friend. 
Christianity believes in a spirit world ; the revered tradi- 
tions and revelations of the Bible most positively assert its 
existence and narrate numerous instances of spirit visita- 






THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 117 

tions to earth. Science cannot explain it otherwise. What, 
then, can account for it but its own words reenforced by 
the asserted truths of Holy Writ, uttered by the lips of the 
most learned of the disciples ? 

"There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but 
the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is 
another." 

"It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. 
There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." 

1 Corinthians xv. 40, 44. 

And the apostle Paul farther asserts that : — 

" The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to 
profit withal. To one the gift of healing, to another the work- 
ing of miracles ; to another, prophecy ; to another, the discern- 
ing of Spirits ; to another, divers kinds of tongues ; to another, 
the interpretation of tongues." 

1 Corinthians xii. 7, 9, 10. 

When John baptized the Saviour in Jordan, is it true that 
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and light- 
ing upon him ? and did he hear the approving voice from 
heaven as narrated by St. Matthew? After his temptation 
on the mountain, did the angels come and minister to him, 
as related by the same apostle? When Peter went to 
Jerusalem and narrated what he saw in the city of Joppa, 
while in a trance, is it true, that when the spirit bade him go 
with the six brethren, that they entered into a man's house 
who showed them how he had seen an angel ? Did Job 
tell the truth when he said, " A spirit passed before my 
face " ? Did Ezekiel and Isaiah talk with departed spirits ? 
or Saul converse with his old friend Samuel who had 
passed away ? Did Paul and the shepherds talk with the 
spirits in the air ? Are the hundreds of incidents of spirit 
communication narrated in the Scriptures true ? Or is all 
this an idle tale to be explained either by the Crumrinian, 



118 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

toe-joint, penny mirror, or gooseberry theory of the Sey- 
bert Commission? Gentlemen of the Jury, I appeal to 
you for a candid verdict founded upon the evidence of 
the experience of mankind as recorded in the sacred his- 
tory of the past, and as told by truthful witnesses now 
living. 

If these revered traditions are true, if the Creator 
through the agencies of the laws of the spirit world did in 
ancient times permit and even command spirit communi- 
cations between heaven and earth, then did the preacher 
in Ecclesiastes, chap. iii. 14, 15, state a physical fact cor- 
rectly when he said, — 

" IJcnoiv that lohatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever; 
nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; 

" That which hath been is now; and that which is to be 
hath already been; and God requireth that which is past" 

As eternal as are the foundations of the universe, as 
unchanging as are the footsteps of time, are the laws of 
our being ; for they are but the commands of the Creator 
enunciated through visible natural phenomena. 

Of that class of excellent divines who ex cathedra pro- 
fess to utter the sentiments of the Deity, and who author- 
atively bid an ignorant vulgar showman " Godspeed for 
doing His work," I enquire, Did the apostle utter the truth 
in his Epistle to the Corinthians? If he did, what do 
Spiritualists now claim that should excite your puny malice 
and give voice to your uncharitable bigotry ? They only 
confirm the statements of Paul, when they say that the 
manifestations they speak of did actually occur, and that 
under God's unchangeable laws they yet perform their 
Christian mission, of demonstrating the fact of a future 
life. 

Of that class of brilliant investigators who decide 
without investigation, yet who, having seen the phenom- 
ena of spirit messages by writing, attribute them to mind- 






THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 119 

reading or unconscious cerebration, I would enquire, How 
can unconscious cerebration do what conscious cerebration 
cannot? Can a mere mental action of the brain cause a 
pencil to write an intelligent sentence, without contact 
with human organism ? If it could furnish the intelligence 
to direct, it could not evolve the force to perform. A 
conscious action of the cerebral organs cannot cause an 
inanimate object disconnected with the body to move, and 
what new power does an unconscious action of the same 
organs possess? 

Milton, the great poet whose writings have done nearly 
as much toward forming or moulding the orthodox creeds 
as the Bible itself, says in his " Paradise Lost," Book iv., 
line 677,— 

" Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth 
Unseen, both when we wake and when we sleep." 

If this is true, if the positive assertions of the Bible 
are true, if the opinions and evidence of multitudes of 
earth's greatest minds are true, if the phenomena that so 
frequently attend the dying-bed of the Christian, and which 
are so often narrated by ministerial lips from the pul- 
pit and altar are true, there is an unseen world, and the 
spirits of our dead do communicate with those once dear 
to them on earth ; and this solves the mysterious problems 
that now bid defiance to the researches of scientific inves- 
tigations. If all this is not true, if there is no communi- 
cation between the living and the dead, if no ray of spirit- 
ual life can penetrate the dark veil that conceals the future 
from our view, if no voice can come to us from the echo- 
less caverns of death, no whispered words of love and 
remembrance from those who have passed away, — then is 
there no proof of a future life, there is nothing beyond 
the grave but dread annihilation ; and the infidel senti- 
ments endorsed by the Seybert Commission and sent 



120 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

broadcast on their mission of evil are true ; life is indeed 
but a dream, death an endless sleep, and our future but 
the shadow of a vision. 

Gentlemen of the Jury, you will observe that the only 
difference between orthodox Christians and Spiritualists in 
the fundamental doctrines of their respective creeds, is as 
to the weight and admissibility of the evidence by which 
an alleged fact is proven. Both believe in a future life ; 
the one upon the evidence of hope and faith based upon 
the teachings of their theology ; the other on the demon- 
strations of physical phenomena : yet the lion of orthodoxy 
growls at the lamb of Spiritualism, will not lay down by 
its side, and even refuses to be led by the teachings of 
the little child that was born in a manger in Bethlehem. 

I appeal to your candor, your charity, your justice, and 
your appreciation of the Golden Rule, in the decision of 
this case ; I invoke the aid of all those emotions and prin- 
ciples that mark the Christian mind ; the absence of which 
totally disqualifies a man from occupying the position of 
either a juror or a commissioner in the determination of 
any question of' public interest. To you as citizens, con- 
scious of the rights of your fellows, as well as your own ; 
to you I appeal in the rectitude of my cause and the 
honesty of its demands, for a fair and impartial verdict. 
What is there in the demands of Spiritualism inconsistent 
with the requirements of true religion, or the welfare and 
happiness of mankind? 

On the pathway of life, Spiritualism, — with a smile of 
happy consciousness of a future life, — meets Orthodoxy, 
whose brow is corrugated with the stern, yet pleasant, 
anticipation of the future damnation of the greater por- 
tion of mankind, and a certainty of its own salvation. 
Spiritualism extends the right hand of fellowship, say- 
ing, " Brother, your faith is true, your hope is certain 
of fulfillment. Last evening I attended a stance, and 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS* REPORT. 121 

saw a physical demonstration of the continuity of life 
and a happy hereafter. I have talked with the spirits of 
my departed friends, and I now know that they have 
crossed ' the river ' in safety, and have not forgotten the 
ties and affections of earth. I know that, ' if a man live 
lie shall not die.' I know that our conduct here will exert 
an influence on our future, either for good or evil, through 
all the ages of eternity, and that it is therefore better for 
mankind to be honest, virtuous, and upright in this world, 
that thereby they may increase their happiness in the 
world to come. I know that the Creator rules the uni- 
verse with kindness and love. I know that Isaiah the 
prophet enunciated a living truth when he said, — 

11 ' He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God 
will wipe away tears from off all faces.' 

"Now, brother, why should we not live together in 
kindness, charity, and affiliation? "Why should we judge 
harshly of each other, and condemn without hearing our 
fellows' plea in their behalf? Why should we not re- 
member the words of him who spake as never man spake 
before, — 

" ' Judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and 
ye shall not be condemned; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.' 

*' You remember that John the Apostle says, — 

"'Beloved, let us love one another; for God is love, and 
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.' 
" ' He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love.' 

" You and I are seeking to attain the same result. We 
both desire the welfare of our fellow-men on this earth, 
and to teach them how to secure the greatest possible 
happiness hereafter. Is it not a glorious mission? One 
in which all Christian philanthropists can assimilate and 
work together for the general good? Cannot we lay aside 




\ 122, ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

■ . v 

ill our differences in dogmas and creeds, and, side by side, 
s brothers and co-workers for the happiness of our fel- 
low-men, each pursue his own method of healing the sick, 
comforting the mourning, and alleviating -the sorrows of 
our race? If we both seek to do good, what matters it if 
we differ in our faith as to the means to be employed ? 
If you doubt my works, and I your faith, let us compro- 
mise according to the rule given by St. James, — 

" ' Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee 
my faith by my 'works.' 

1 ' And we will both by good deeds unite in our efforts to 
secure the common weal, and alleviate the woes of our 
afflicted human brotherhood." 

Here Orthodoxy, with the stern, characteristic dignity of 
conscious rectitude, and sole proprietorship in the Bible, 
its teachings, and interpretations, replies : — 

" Sir, your theory is absurd. It is a creed born of 
mental imbecility or incipient insanity ! No man is saved 
because of his good works or noble deeds, but by belief, 
prayer, and penitence alone. God may be a being of 
love, but he is also a being capable of infinite anger. It 
is written in his holy word that the wrath of God against 
the sinner and unbeliever endureth forever. The blessed 
Psalms of that most virtuous ruler in Israel says, — 

11 'The wicked shall be turned into hell and alt the nations 
that forget God. 

11 ' Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling.' 

" No, sir; pursue your own reckless, wicked course of 
unbelief alone ! Seek no help from me — not even in an 
investigation of your creed ; you are misleading immortal 
souls to their ruin. Remember, the Lord said to the Is- 
raelites through the lips of Moses, — 

" ' A fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the 
lowest hell.' 






BEPOET. 123 

" « Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who 
among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? ' 

"And Isaiah asserts most positively that, — 

4 ' ' Their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.' 

" This is the terrible doom of those who believe as you 
do. And remember that in the awful day of judgment, 
the plea of emotional insanity will avail you nothing. 
There will be no lawyers there to plead your cause ; you 
may be insane here ; your intentions may be good ; you 
may teach honesty and morality, and even live up to your 
principles on this earth ; yet good works will not fit a man 
for heaven, nor loving deeds toward his fellow-men en- 
title him to a crown of glory : repentance and belief alone 
can save mankind; and though it may come at the last 
hour, as it did to the penitent thief on the cross, yet is it 
sufficient ; and for this reason, through the glorious gifts 
of the Gospel, while a long life of honesty, benevolence, 
and philanthropy will avail nought in the great future, 
3^et a penitent prayer uttered at the gallows, in the last 
moment, has often attoned for a long life of sin and 
crime ; and every year hundreds of murderers are swung 
from the scaffold into the Elysian Fields of paradise. In 
the twinkling of an eye they are transformed into seraphs 
and angels, while hell is paved with good intentions, and 
peopled with those whose only merit was that during life 
they executed them. This is the glorious creed of Ortho- 
doxy. " 

Here the interview ends. The Spiritualist pursues his 
happy, contented way, while the charitable expounder of 
Orthodoxy, with the assurance of a " tenant in possession," 
retires to his enclosure, puts another rail on the fence that 
surrounds his premises, and pastes thereon the warning 
notice : — 



124 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

'TRESPASSERS WILL BEWARE OF SPRING-GUNS, 
PIT-FALLS, AND MAN-TRAPS!" 

To an observer who possesses an innate perception of 
the ludicrous, it is very amusing to see with what assur- 
ance the votaries of the orthodox creeds assert their 
ownership of the Bible, and their indisputable right of 
its interpretation. It reminds us of an act of the early 
Puritans of New England, by which they reconciled their 
consciences and established their land titles. The story 
is told by an early historian, that, " after the Puritan 
settlers had driven the Indians from the seacoast back 
into the mountains, and had appropriated their hunting- 
grounds without paying the evicted owners therefor, they 
began to be troubled with perceptible qualms of con- 
science at the thought that they might not have respected, 
as Christians should, the great principles of ' meum et 
tuum ' ; so they called a public meeting in the then little 
village of Boston, to discuss the matter and decide upon 
the question of right or wrong thus presented to their 
thoughtful minds. At that meeting, after a lengthy dis- 
cussion, they passed by a unanimous vote the following 
resolutions : — 

"Resolved, 1st, That the earth is the Lord's, and the 
fulness thereof ; 

"Resolved, 2d, That He has given the earth to his saints 
as an inheritance ; 

"Resolved, 3d, That we are his saints." 

Thus were their consciences made easy and their land 
titles settled beyond all future controversy. 

But, Gentlemen of the Jury, I fear that in my innate 
propensity for the discussion of polemics I have wandered 
from the legitimate questions involved in the issue sub- 
mitted to you. 

The question primarily presented by the evidence is, — 
Do spirit communications between this and the unseen 






THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 125 

world actually occur? Secondarily, have the " Seybert 
Commissioners" performed their duties under the be- 
quest of Henry Seybert as faithful, honest Christian men 
should ? 

It is true that there are great difficulties to be over- 
come in the pathway of their investigations ; but great 
minds conquer difficulties by patient, careful, and candid 
research, while weak mental organizations are easily dis- 
suaded and overcome by obstacles that only serve as 
incentives to renewed action to those who earnestly seek 
for the truth, and are capable of recognizing it when 
found. The traveler across our Western territory who is 
exhausted in surmounting the foot-hills is not physically 
capacitated to climb the mountain range beyond. The 
intellect that is only capable of observing the ordinary 
visible phenomena of nature, would be blind indeed in 
attempting to investigate the unseen life and forces of 
nature. Those who confine their researches to the de- 
velopments of the rays of a penny mirror, the properties 
of magnetized paper, or the feats of jugglery of a petty 
showman, might, it is true, in propria persona, discover 
the occult properties of a gooseberry, while psychological 
phenomena would be beyond the grasp of their mental 
capacity. 

The mysteries of unseen life are involved in this prob- 
lem, and here science lends its aid and invites investiga- 
tion. It positively asserts that on every bush, on every 
flower, is a world unseen by man's unaided vision. Im- 
palpable forms float around us on every side ; intangible 
beings sport in the air we breath, the water we drink, and 
the food we eat. All are material, all are composed of 
chemical elements, all are as substantial and real to each 
other as we are to our fellows, yet as invisible to us as 
are spirit forms or the world of attenuated matter in which 
they live. 



126 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

Before invention gave the microscope to man, the life 
of the animalculae was unknown to us, their world was 
terra incognita, on which the foot of science had never 
trod. Before man constructed the telescope the vast 
regions of stellar space were beyond the reach of inves- 
tigation. Before chemistry was born the properties of 
matter were secrets most profound. Before the gnome 
Geology emerged from the dark caverns of the earth and 
related what he knew, the rocky pages of its history were 
a sealed book, and vague tradition told a fanciful tale of 
the world's creation, and the origin of man ; but science 
found the " open sesame" to its caves and mines and 
epochal formations, and lo ! the history of five thousand 
years were extended back through long eons of time 
before man was created. With advancing years came 
increase of knowledge ; with increase of knowledge the 
development of new phenomena ; with new phenomena 
the evidence of new forms of life, and proof of new 
worlds, the theatre of their action ; and now who can fix 
the boundaries of these worlds of organized beings? 
Where, within the limitless space of creation's unexplored 
domain, can science truly say, "Thus far shalt thou go 
and no farther " ? 

We pause in awe and with bated breath at the contem- 
plation of the vastness of the realm we know not of, save 
through the logic of reason, and the revelations of psychi- 
cal phenomena, which confirms the belief of the Christian 
world, so tersely stated by Bishop Taylor : — 

" There will be a futurity and potentiality of more for ever 
and ever." 

Now while science proves the fact of an unseen life, 
possessed of at least instinctive intelligence, do not its 
demonstrations also prove ihe possibility of such a life 
governed by reason and intellect? The fact being estab- 



REPORT. 127 

lished by scientific investigation, that there is an invisible 
world around us, teeming with life, how shall we deter- 
mine the grades or degrees of intellect incident to that 
life except by the intelligence exhibited in its manifesta- 
tions ? It matters not as to the manner or form in which 
communications come to us, whether by sound, touch, or 
writing. If intelligence is manifested, and it preserves the 
mental characteristics known to us in this life, how can 
we doubt the unseen presence of the living soul that once 
lived and loved by our side, was the recipient of mutual 
secrets known only to ourselves and the one who has 
passed away, and which, through the unexplained phe- 
nomena of " manifestations " are returned to us like echoes 
from the distant past? 

Gentlemen, remember that it is not expected that you 
shall by your verdict determine beyond a "reasonable 
doubt " that spirit manifestations actually occur, but only 
that the evidence of the existence of this so-called phe- 
nomena is such as to demand of the trustees of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania a continued careful investigation, 
and that their proceedings shall be candid, impartial, and 
truthful ; that no prejudice shall turn them aside from the 
well-defined path of their duty ; but that without fear, 
favor, or affection, they shall earnestly seek for the truth, 
and, as Captain Cuttle would say, " when found, make a 
note onH" 

In the pathway of investigation they will doubtless 
encounter a number of phenomena apparently very incon- 
sistent with the claims of Spiritualism ; for instance, 
interrogations directed to one who is living may be an- 
swered in writing between the slates, as if from one who 
is dead. Nevertheless, the phenomenon of an unseen in- 
telligence will be as apparent as if the communication 
was truthful. Lawyers who have had large experience 
in the examination of witnesses in our courts know full 



128 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

well that many a falsehood is told so intelligently as to 
impress the jury in the case with a conviction of its 
truth, while many a truth is related so stupidly that it is 
received with doubt. 

Ananias and Sapphira certainly possessed intelligence, 
although their moral obliquity has become a matter of 
history. I might refer to some portions of the Report of 
the Seybert Commissioners as a further illustration in 
point, but my innate charity compels me to forbear. 

In my investigations an intelligence that purported to 
be one William Shakespeare has inflicted upon my in- 
quiring mind a stanza of insufferable doggerel ; while I 
have received communications evincing more than ordi- 
nary intellectuality and education, which purported to 
come from one who in this life was ignorant and incapable 
of either writing or composing them. Nevertheless, an un- 
seen intelligence directed the pencil that wrote both. I 
have had facts related to me in a seance which at the time 
were unknown to me, and which after enquiry proved to 
be true. These facts could not have been known to the 
medium, only one living person being cognizant of them, 
and he hundreds of miles away. While I have received 
communications untrue in almost every particular, yet 
both truth and error were the result of an unseen living 
force and intelligence ; and it is these phenomena, full of 
apparent incongruities, that demand investigation, — to 
ascertain from whence they come, and the laws that 
govern them. For this labor the Seybert Commissioners 
were abundantly compensated out of the bequest to the 
University of Pennsjlvania. The generous donation of 
Henry Seybert was made for this purpose, and yet it has 
been used to publish a cruel calumny on his cherished 
religion, and to cover his memory with obloquy and scorn. 

Of course, gentlemen, it is possible that these phenom- 
ena are not of spirit origin, that future scientific investi- 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 129 

gation may explain them ; therefore should the Univer- 
sity of Pennsylvania place this investigation in competent 
hands, remembering that there may be charlatanry, fraud, 
and incompetency among commissioners as well as among 
mediums. 

There is no doubt of the occurrence of so-called spirit 
phenomena. I recently heard an eloquent lecturer — Mrs. 
Nellie J. T. Brigham — remark that u facts were the most 
stubborn things to deal with in the world, except those 
who will not believe them," and it is possible that the pres- 
ent Board of Seybert Commissioners may be composed of 
such obdurate material. If so, of course they are guiltless 
of crime ; for, while mental obscurity is to be regretted, 
it is not indictable. Not so with the University of Penn- 
sylvania, for the wilful misappropriation of funds has 
often rendered a residence in Canada desirable ; and if 
the trustees fail to appropriate the Seybert bequest as 
therein directed, there are statutes in all the States of 
the Union, on the subject, that are mildly suggestive. 

Gentlemen of the Jury, observe the conditions of the 
bequest as they are given on page 7 of my first re- 
view. It is a perpetuity ; i.e., the gift of $60,000 to the 
University of Pennsylvania was to be invested in legal 
securities, and the interest expended in maintaining a 
4 ' chair of moral and intellectual philosophy for the investi- 
gation of all systems of morals, religion, or philosophy which 
assume to represent the truth, and particularly of Modem 
Spiritualism." It is evident to every one who reads this 
bequest that by its express conditions the interest of this 
fund is to be expended by the institution to which it was 
given, for the purpose of a continued investigation of the 
subjects mentioned by the donor. Should the Board of 
Trustees fail in the performance of a duty so clearly de- 
fined, their position will not and ought not to shield them 
from the condemnation of the public. If they dislike to 



130 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

perform the obligations imposed upon them, if they fear 
the effects of investigation on some favorite doxy or pet 
creed, they should yield up their trust to others whose 
avarice and prejudice are not above their conscience, and 
who will see that the generous donation of Henry Seybert 
is not used to desecrate his memory. 

The University of Pennsylvania has less interest in this 
legacy than the public for whose enlightenment and benefit 
it was made. The trustees have no right to use it for 
any other purpose than those specified in the conveyance 
itself. " All systems of morals, religion, and philosophy 
which assume to represent the truth " are to be investi- 
gated, — not simply the feats of fraud and tricks of show- 
men. The Commissioners, on the first page of their 
Report say, " The belief in so-called Spiritualism is cer- 
tainly not decreasing. It has from the first assumed a 
religious tone, and now claims to be ranked among the 
denominational faiths of the day." If this be true, the 
admitted religious belief of millions of intelligent men 
and women is to be made the subject of earnest enquiry. 
Should it not then be conducted by the same qualified 
learning, with the same patient, laborious research, the 
same candor and truthfulness that would be deemed nec- 
essary in any other scientific or theological enquiry ? Has 
this been done b\ r the Seybert Commissioners? Would 
this learned body of men, if deputed to investigate the 
creed or articles of faith of any of the orthodox denomi- 
nations of the day, have dared to have conducted their 
proceedings with the levity of conduct that ihzy have in 
investigating the religion of the Spiritualists? Well do 
we know that they would not. Had the psychological 
phenomena so often witnessed at the altars of prayer of 
the denomination founded by that great Spiritualist, John 
Wesley, been submitted to their investigation and report, 
would they have dared to treat it with scorn, and to illus- 



131 

trate its actions by silly jests and stale witticisms? Well 
wot we they would not ; but with becoming respect for 
a great power in the land, they would have " crooked 
the pregnant hinges of the knee " before its might, and 
wagged the servile tongue in its behalf. But to them 
Spiritualism was but a baby plant easily crushed beneath 
the tread of the careless observer. They saw not in its 
infant form the potentiality of the giant oak ; they did 
not foresee the wide-spreading foliage and ripening fruit 
of centuries to come, and in obedience to their master's 
will they spurned it as an object unworthy of their con- 
sideration. If the feats of petty showmen and fraudu- 
lent mediums are sufficient to confute the investigations 
and experiments of hundreds of eminent scientists who 
have made the phenomena of so-called spirit manifesta- 
tions the subject of patient and learned research ; if the 
folly of the fool shall confound the wisdom of the wise, 
then do the spurious miracles of the Middle Ages confute 
the history of those performed by the Saviour and his dis- 
ciples ; the story of the resurrection is a myth ; spirits 
never did minister to mankind ; the eyes of the blind 
were not opened by the touch of the fingers of the Naza- 
rene, and the dead did not arise from the grave at his 
bidding. Such are the legitimate deductions to be drawn 
from the logic of the immortal ten, and the covert infidel 
sentiments of their report. 

Gentlemen, all that the Spiritualists ask of the trustees 
of the University of Pennsylvania is that their religion be 
treated with the respect conceded to others. That their 
conscientious belief and religious convictions shall not be 
made the subject of stage buffoonery and held up to public 
ridicule by a cabal of prejudiced, incompetent men. That 
the Henry Seybert bequest be appropriated in accordance 
with its express terms and the manifest intention of the 
donor, — a plain, simple demand for even-handed justice. 



132 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

No more than this do they desire, and to refuse their peti- 
tion in this behalf would be to do a moral and legal wrong 
that cannot be covered by the ostentation of piety or hid- 
den behind the prominence of respectability. 

Remember that there are thousands of homes where 
these phenomena have been witnessed, within whose pre- 
cincts no fraud could come without detection. The mys- 
terious intelligence has used the innocence of childhood 
and the purity of womanhood as the mediums of com- 
munication. Inanimate objects have been made to move 
intelligently through its agency, as they did at Epworth 
parsonage through the mediumship of John Wesley and 
his Christian mother. That great and good man, the 
founder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a be- 
liever in Spiritualism, and a medium, or he was a fraud 
duriug his childhood, a charlatan in his early manhood, 
and his father falsely recorded the history of the phe- 
nomena that occurred at his fireside during a number of 
years, and which at the time was made the subject of a 
most rigorous investigation by the learned men of the 
day. 1 Observe the facts related by the Dialectical Society 
of London, 2 by Professors Zollner, Crookes, Hare, and 
other eminent scientists, whose testimony is before you in 
this case ; and if you can disbelieve all this evidence, your 
credulity is phenomenal indeed. For if, with the stub- 
born facts before you, you are credulous enough to be- 
lieve that they have all been explained away by the 
Seybert Commissioners' Report, then was the verdant 
youth described in Pollock's " Course of Time," 

" Who thought the moon no larger than his father's shield, 
And the line that girt his vision 'round the world's extreme," 

a very Solomon compared with the members of my jury. 

1 For an account of tSe Wesleyan phenomena, as it was called 
at the time, see page 149 of my former review. 

2 See page 152, ibid. 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 133 

Gentlemen, I beg your pardon. The bare supposition 
that you could be so credulous is an insult to your intelli- 
gence. For the very fact that the phenomena of so-called 
spirit manifestations have been recognized by eminent 
scientists, who deny their spirit origin, and who have 
endeavored to account for them on scientific principles, 
must remove all doubt from thinking minds of their actual 
existence, although their origin or cause may yet be unex- 
plained. The labored explanation of Dr. Carpenter of 
England, while it is but obscurum per obscurius, is con- 
clusive of the fact that the phenomena actually occur, 
and confounds the report, "so childlike and bland," of 
the Seybert Commissioners. 

But the money, gentlemen ! the $60,000 ! What is to 
become of that, and its accruing interest in the future? 
Will the trustees of the University of Pennsylvania con- 
tinue to receive it? " What will he do with it?" 
was the theme of one of Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton's 
most charming novels, and What will they do with it? 
will to some future writer of stories afford a subject where 
imagination may wander untrammelled by any of the laws 
that govern either the moral or legal world. 

Now, Gentlemen of the Jury, I am done. After the 
charge of the court the issue involved in this controversy 
will be submitted to you. The questions of fact and the 
equities of the case are matters that you must determine. 
Eemember it is not alone the plaintiff and defendant that 
are interested in your decision, but the whole human 
race. Have the trustees of the University of Pennsyl- 
vania performed their whole duty in accordance with the 
requirements of the bequest of the late Henry Seybert? 
If they have, then they have impartially investigated 
Spiritualism and found its claims fraudulent and its vo- 
taries but so many products of the illustrative goosebeny. 
The great harlequinade of investigation is over, and 



134 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

henceforth the performers can wear their caps and bells 
unchallenged by the proprieties. They can fearlessly dis- 
play their bauble and adopt as their war-cry, in all future 
attacks upon the religious beliefs of their fellow-men, the 
heaven-born motto of Constantine the Great, "In Hoc 
Signo Vinces." Should future historians belittle their 
victories, none will doubt the appropriateness of either 
their standard or their battle-cry. 

Gentlemen, if Spiritualism is dead, executed by the 
Seybert Commissioners ; if its manifestations at the homes 
and firesides of its conscientious, intelligent votaries have 
been proven to be tricks of jugglery ; if all the wisdom 
of the past has been confounded by the acumen of the 
illustrious ten ; if there is no evidence of a future life but 
that of hope and faith, sad indeed is the condition of all 
mankind who exercise the cerebral function of thinking, 
and gloomy is the outlook for those who are only con- 
vinced of a fact by evidence of its existence. 

" Requiescat in pace." 

Gentlemen of the Jury ! ! since the writing of the fore- 
going pages, I have seen a notice in a prominent orthodox 
religious publication that Spiritualism is Dead. The sor- 
rowful news made me sad, very sad ; in fact, it always 
makes me feel melancholy when I read this sorrowful an- 
nouncement. Lo ! for these many years I have seen its 
death so frequently reported, that, aside from the grief 
incident to the demise of all great philanthropists, the 
monotony of the occurrence is becoming very tiresome. 
The supposed vital tenacity of the genus felis is as noth- 
ing compared with that of Spiritualism. But now I am 
informed on the above-mentioned undoubted authority 
that it is actually as dead as was the great Csesar after 
his last interview with Brutus. But what more could be 



135 



expected when $60,000 was the reward to be enjoyed after 
its funeral obsequies had ended ? Bravely did its hosts of 
intelligent men and women, learned supporters, and scien- 
tific investigators seek to sustain it on the battle-ground 
of public opinion. It was an unequal contest. Observe 
the army arrayed against them. First in the rank of its 
assailants came the Seybert Commissioners with their 
trained habits of investigation. The " assides" of Sel- 
lers and " sidebar" remarks of other gentlemen of the 
Commission in the presence of the mediums ; the singu- 
larly phenomenal memory of Fullerton, the terrible expe- 
rience of their chairman with Caffray's fly-paper — his 
"gooseberry" joke, and Shakespearian quotations; all 
aided by the refulgent rays of a penny mirror, whose 
effects were even more wonderful than were those of Ar- 
chimedes' focalized reflectors which fired the distant ships 
of the enemies of his country. Next came the legerde- 
main of Kellar, the childish jugglery of Prof.* with its 
ministerial endorsements. Then the abnormal toe- joint 
of Mrs. Fox Kane, inspired by Rum, Recompense, and 
Revenge ; and last but not least, from the Olympus of the 
pulpit were hurled the Crumrinian thunderbolts. Sulphu- 
rous fumes from the fires of Hades (see Revised Edition) 
enveloped the contending armies, while Satanas Diabolus, 
in command of the host from his position in the rear 
outrivaled the military glory of his former battles as 
described by Milton, and precipitated his heroes on the 
stubborn foe. High in air the encountering standards 
blazed. Yonder the golden-tinted banner of Spiritualism, 
its heaven-born hues faintly gleaming through the murky 
air as it retired before the victorious host. Here the cap 
and bells borne aloft on the staff of the glittering bauble, 
its inseparable companion from the long-past clays of gen- 
erous chivalry to the present time of warring theological 
creeds and dogmas. 



136 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

Gentlemen, truly it was a time to try the souls of men, 
and gauge the depth of their intellectual capacity ; but 

" The avenging passions rise and the battle moves." 

The army of the University of Pennsylvania, encour- 
aged by the shout of the rabble in their rear, and enliv- 
ened by the beating of the " Drum Ecclesiastic" pursued 
their retreating foe, who fled before them as did the armed 
hosts of the ' ' Dutch dynasty " before the breath of then- 
New England invaders, who had just breakfasted from 
their onion fields — as described by Washington Irving. 
Valor availed nought ; the carnage was terrible and the 
defeat overwhelming. The cap and bauble is entwined 
with the wreath of victory. Justice, from her mytholog- 
ical home, dashes her scales to earth, breaks her sword, 
and, taking the advice of the gray-coated philosopher, 
disappears in the far-distant west. 

Gentlemen, I do not seek to arouse your sympathy or 
invoke your tears in behalf of the unfortunate dead; but 
I do ask you to assist us in marshaling the assets of the 
decedent's estate, and distributing it under the rules of 
law and equity. I desire you by your verdict to determine 
whether the Seybert bequest belongs of right to the 
University of Pennsylvania or to the heirs at law of the 
late lamented Henry Seybert. 

Your verdict rendered, } T our duty is performed, your 
task finished ; and from your decision there is no appeal 
but to the justice of the future, enlightened as it will be 
by the increasing knowledge of mankind. When we 
reflect on what theology taught one hundred years ago 
and what it teaches now, it is evident that the law of evo- 
lution is operating on the mental as well as the physical 
condition of mankind ; and when, with the prophetic vision 
of this law we look into the future, we can clearly see the 
hope and faith of Spiritualism triumphant in its demon- 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 137 

strations ; its beautiful philosophy, full of joy and glad 
tidings, the admitted truth of the future and the religious 
belief of the world. Then, and not until then, shall the 
real millennium come. Then, and not until then, will the 
prophecy of Revelation be literally fulfilled, — 

" . . . Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and 
he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and 
God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; 
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
crying, neither shall there be any more pain ; for the 
former things are passed away." 

Now, Gentlemen of the Jury, I leave the case with you. 
In its decision I invoke your candor and sense of justice, 
unawed by popular clamor and uninfluenced by prejudice 
or the social position of the defendants. Let your verdict 
be such as your intelligence shall dictate and your con- 
science hereafter approve ; let the evidence and the law 
be your guides, truth the object you seek to attain, and 
say to the world that high social position is no protection 
to the wrong-doer, neither is the duty of a great Commis- 
sion to be performed by ribald jest or cruel witticism 
directed against the memory of the defenceless dead. 



138 



ADDENDUM TO THE BEVIEW OF 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE CHARGE OF THE COURT. 

"Let nothing be more precious to thee than the truth." 

Epictetus. 
" Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." 

Jesus. 
" Truth for authority; not authority for the truth." 

LUCRETIA MOTT. 



The People 




Ex relatione 




Spiritualism 




vs. 


In the Supreme Court of Public 


The University of 


Opinion at the Spring Term, 1889. 


Pennsylvania and the 
Seybert Commission- 
ers, Partners doing 


Before Chief Justice 
Hon. Well. C. Fairplay, LL.D. 


business under the 




style and title of 




We, Us & Co. 





Gentlemen of the Jury : — This cause has been pend- 
ing before this court for two years. Much testimony has 
been taken, many arguments have been made from the 
pulpit, the press, and the rostrum, in favor of both the 
plaintiff and the defendants. Much acrimony and un- 
charitableness has been indulged in by both parties to the 
controversy. To the court this appears unseemly and 
unwarrantable, as both ostensibly are seeking for the 
truth and contending for the right. To the future his- 
torian this case will present the singular anomaly of two 






THE SEYBEET COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 139 

parties asserting positively the truth of a spiritual life, 
both of them offering the proofs of its existence, both 
equally interested in the great issue, and equally conscien- 
tious in the advocacy of their proofs and theories. Yet 
both are engaged in a bitter controversy as to whether a 
road that has been trodden in one direction by countless 
millions of feet, may not along its margin show the im- 
press of a few returning footsteps ; whether the existence 
of a far-off country is best proven by hope and faith 
alone, or by the additional testimony of numbers of trav- 
ellers who have visited it, made it their permanent future 
home, and occasionally return on a brief visit to their 
friends and relatives to relate something of its geography 
and the condition, of its inhabitants. 

It does not seem as if the questions involved in this 
contention could be difficult of solution if we apply to 
them the same rules of logic that we do to the ordinary 
enquiries incident to the history of men or nations. In 
early youth a boy has left the parental home and fireside. 
"Weeks and months pass on, and his friends have heard 
nothing from him. At last the news comes of a shipwreck 
on a distant ocean, and his name is found among the list 
of those who perished. For long and weary years he is 
mourned as dead, and at last he is almost forgotten by all 
save a sorrowing mother. Even brothers and sisters who 
once loved him, but faintly cherish his memory. The 
recollection of his features has grown dim with passing 
years. Eventually an old man, a stranger, appears 
among them. His wrinkled features and snow-white hair 
show no resemblance to the youthful face and brown locks 
of the youth who, fifty years before, was the pet of the 
household. He announces his name ; it is that of the 
long-lost son and brother. The keen vision of a mother's 
love sees no resemblance. To relatives and friends alike 
he is a stranger. To brothers and sisters he relates in- 



140 ADDENDUM TO THE KEVIEW OF 

cidents of his boyhood. To his mother he repeats the 
pra} r er he learned at her knee, or the infant lullaby she 
sang by his cradle. At last he is recognized. All are 
convinced that though his form is changed beyond recog- 
nition, } r et the intelligence, the knowledge of events he 
possesses, could be known to no other : the certainty of 
his identity is established ; the lost is found, and tears 
of joy welcome the prodigal's return. This evidence is 
received in every court of justice in the land. By it his 
heirship to his deceased father's estate is established. By 
the decrees of court the patrimony is divided, and no 
one doubts the testimony or the fact proven thereby. 

Gentlemen, what is the evidence by which the relations 
are satisfied, and the court convinced of his identity? 
Nothing but the presence of the living intelligence that 
remembers and relates the incidents of his childhood ; yet 
it is sufficient. No one for a moment doubts it ; no proof 
could be more conclusive. The soul of the youth has 
survived the changes of the body. Memory has told the 
tales of infancy ; no one could counterfeit them ; false- 
hood could not relate them in such a way as to escape 
detection ; and those interested in the division of the 
estate, and whose portion is lessened thereby, are con- 
vinced against their interest, and believe, though avarice 
may try to reject the testimony and deny the proof. Do 
the plaintiffs in this case sustain their claims against the 
defendants by evidence of this character? This is a 
question entirely of fact for you to determine, and you 
should do so uninfluenced by fear, favor, or affection. 

It is the duty of this court to call your attention to the 
testimony adduced in the trial of this cause, to state to 
you the principles of law involved in the issue ; then it is 
your duty to decide between the contending parties, re- 
membering that you should not doubt, as jurors, witnesses 
whom you would believe as men. You bring into the 



THE SEYBEET COMMISSIONERS' EEPOBT. 141 

jury-box the same intelligence and reason that guide you 
in the every-day transactions of life. Nothing more is 
required of you. No prejudice should influence you. The 
voice of popular clamor you must not heed ; it should 
be unheard in the forum of justice : here the law and the 
testimony alone are considered, for "of more or less than 
this cometh evil." 

Gentlemen, in the trial of this cause there are two 
questions of fact for you to determine. The one, ex 
necessitate rei, must precede the other, i.e., from the neces- 
sities of the case : you are compelled to determine, First, 
the fact as to the actual existence of the so-called spiritual 
phenomena. Second. Have the Seybert Commissioners 
performed their whole duty as required by the provisions 
the Seybert bequest? If they have candidly, impartially, 
and intelligently investigated so-called spiritual manifes- 
tations, and have found all of the phenomena fraud and 
deception, then only a portion of their duties has been per- 
formed ; for you will remember that, by the provisions of 
the bequest, the University of Pennsylvania is required 
to " maintain a Chair of Moral and Intellectual Philosophy ; 
and the incumbent of said chair, either individually, or in 
conjunction with a commission of the University Faculty, 
shcdl make a thorough and impartial investigation of all 
systems of morals, religion, or philosophy which assume to 
represent the truth, and particularly Modern Spiritualism." 
The investigation of Spiritualism is only a portion of the 
duties enjoined upon them. There are other systems to 
be investigated, either by the present commissioners or by 
others, to be appointed by the University for that pur- 
pose. 

If the present Board of Commissioners have fully inves- 
tigated the subject of Modern Spiritualism, and discovered 
that it is all a fraud, that portion of their duty is ended, 
and the wonderful fact is established that the wisdom of 



142 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

hundreds of able scientists is at fault ; their patient and 
laborious investigations are naught ; their conclusions erro- 
neous; millions of intelligent educated men and women 
have been deceived by fireside jugglery and the legerde- 
main of the home circles where no motive for deception 
existed, and where it would have been liable to detection 
if attempted ; and that all this has been accomplished by 
ten men of only average capacity and qualifications, after 
a limited investigation. If you really believe this as 
jurors, then it is your duty to so find in your verdict. 

But remember, gentlemen, that a single truth, no matter 
how apparently insignificant, if clearly established, will 
by its innate force eventually overthrow mountains of 
error that may be heaped upon it. The truths of a science, 
or a religious theory are not overthrown by the detection of 
frauds perpetrated in their name by pretended votaries 
of either. Pharmacy is a true science, notwithstanding 
quacks and charlatans have prepared philters and worthless 
patent lotions and medicines by which people are deceived. 
There is no science more exact and certain in its opera- 
tions than surgery. Yet incompetent hands have often 
manipulated the tourniquet and scalpel ; and in ancient 
times ignorance applied the salve to the instrument that 
inflicted the wound instead of to the injured limb. Modern 
orthodox teachers would not admit that the history of the 
miracles of the Nazarene were disproved by the feats of the 
ancient Magi, or the theory of the divinity of the Saviour 
nullified by the life and recorded acts of Mahomet. It is 
illogical and unjust to decry a Christian organization be- 
cause of the sins or frauds committed in its name or by 
its individual members. Sad indeed would it be for the 
world, if the truths and claims of so-called revealed re- 
ligion were to be refuted and made the jest of ribald 
tongues, because among its professors were found con- 
victed adulterers, thieves, and murderers ! As long as 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 143 

the world shall stand there will be hypocrites in every 
religious organization, fraud or error in every scientific 
investigation, while unconscionable avarice will continue 
to prey upon the credulity of mankind ; but fraud cannot 
destroy truth. Truth will in the end annihilate fraud, 
and, in spite of cruel sarcasm or rude and vulgar jest, 
assert its sovereignty and conquer its foes. 

In the examination of the claims of the parties in this 
case, you will remember, gentlemen, that a fraudulent act 
is only evidence against its perpetrators, and is limited in 
its effects to its immediate surroundings ; while a demon- 
strated truth will live forever, and, as its age advances, 
become more and more prolific of good, while the sphere 
of its influence will increase with passing years as long as 
time shall last. 

Gentlemen, you will bear in mind, as we have said to 
you, that in the decision of this case you are not to be 
influenced by popular clamor or public prejudice. The 
law and the evidence alone are to be your guides. Prob- 
ably many of your number have read newspaper articles 
and criticisms on the phenomena of Spiritualism ; numer- 
ous so-called exposures have been published in the peri- 
odicals of the day ; but these must not influence you in 
forming your verdict. They are usually the work of un- 
informed reporters who write more for sensation than 
to disseminate truth. Sometimes flippant editorials are 
found in the columns of ecclesiastic publications whose 
sole mission on earth seems to be proselyting for some 
particular creed or dogma. But the history of the past 
should teach us all to be charitable when we judge the 
religious opinions of our fellows ; truth is not always re- 
ceived unquestioned at its advent, but often requires long 
years of advocac} 7 by its adherents before its claims are 
admitted. Many of the greatest scientific truths of to-day 
were subjects of ridicule in years gone by ; many of the 



144 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

great orthodox creeds of the present time have struggled 
through years of persecution, ridicule, and martyrdom 
before they were even tolerated by a disbelieving public. 
A notable instance of this fact we have in the history of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church. To-day it is numeri- 
cally larger than any other Protestant denomination. It 
is but a little over a century old, yet it has erected its 
churches, colleges, and benevolent institutions in every 
country on the globe. It has sent its missionaries to 
every people, and has done as much, if not more, to 
spread the Gospel than any other Protestant denomina- 
tion ; and yet it was once the object of contempt and 
ridicule. As recently as in 1817, The Round Table, a 
prominent English publication, contained an article from 
the pen of a noted English scholar, on Methodism, which 
I will read to you, gentlemen, as an illustration in point, 
to show that " often the stone which the builder rejected 
becomes the head of the corner." Mr. Hazlitt wrote as 
follows : — 

' ' The principles of Methodism are nearly allied to hypocrisy, 
and almost unavoidably slide into it. They may be considered 
as a collection of religious invalids : the refuse of all that is 
weak and unsound in body and mind. Methodism may be de- 
fined to be a religion with its slobbering bib and go-cart. It is 
a bastard kind of Papacy, stripped of its painted pomp and out- 
ward ornaments, and reduced to a state of pauperism. ... It 
does not impose a tax upon the understanding. Its essence is 
to be unintelligible. It is carte blanche for ignorance and folly. 
. . . One of its favorite places of worship combines the tur- 
bulence and noise of a drunken brawl at an ale-house with 
the indecencies of a bagnio. . . . They . . . revel in a sea of 
boundless nonsense." 

Remember, gentlemen, that this coarse and vulgar at- 
tack was published as late as 1817, in a prominent peri- 
odical, against a church that numbers among its clergy 
many of the ablest divines that ever lived ; a church that 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 145 

has signalized itself by its good works and the power it 
has exercised in propagating Christian enlightenment over 
the world, and that is to-day as prominent in the intelli- 
gence of its members and its deeds of true Christian 
philanthropy as any church organization on earth ; re- 
member this, and find in this illustrative fact a reason 
why you should not be influenced by prejudice or swayed 
by popular clamor. Yet it is a singular fact that this 
now eminently respectable Christian church, which in its 
infancy was ridiculed and despised for the supposed folly 
of its creed, and the absurdity of the spiritual manifesta- 
tions incident to its revivals, should now be most intoler- 
ant in its denunciations of the conscientious belief of the 
Spiritualists. Its publications and printed Advocates are 
teeming with articles from ministerial pens, as falsely 
libelous and vulgar as that of Mr. Hazlitt ; and yet, if 
its own church histories are truthful, its founder, the 
great and good John Wesley, was a Spiritualist, his 
Christian mother a medium, his reverend father a believer 
in its phenomena, and a historian of the manifestations 
that attended the Wesley family for many years. 

The great founder of Methodism in relating his experi- 
ence and convictions on the subject of the evidence of 
spirit manifestations says : — 

" What pretense have I to deny well-attested facts because I 
cannot comprehend them? It is true that most of the men of 
learning in Europe have given up all accounts of apparitions as 
mere old wives' fables. I am sorry for it, and I willingly take 
this opportunity of entering my solemn protest against this vio- 
lent compliment which so many that believe the Bible pay to 
those who do not believe it. I owe them no such service. They 
well know (whether Christians know it or not) that the giving 
up these apparitions is in effect giving up the Bible ; and they 
know on the other hand that if but one account of the inter- 
course of men with spirits is admitted, their whole castle in the 
air (Deism, Atheism, and Methodism) falls to the ground. . . , 



146 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

One of the capital objections to all these accounts which I have 
known urged over and over, is this : Did you ever see an appari- 
tion yourself? No; nor did I ever see a murder, yet I believe 
there is such a thiug. . . . Yet the testimony of unexceptional 
witnesses fully convinces me of both the one and the other. . . . 
With my last breath will I bear testimony against giving up to 
infidels one of the greatest proofs of the invisible world — I 
mean that of apparitions confirmed by the testimony of all 
ages." 

Gentlemen, this is the testimony of one of the world's 
greatest and best men ; the founder of a church that 
claims a 'population of 16,000,000, with 4,000,000 com- 
municants, and yet the Christian Advocates and other 
publications of this great denomination, deride the belief 
of their pioneer and apostle ; deny his testimony, ignore 
his evidence and that of his father, mother, and brothers ; 
proclaim Spiritualism a fraud, its manifestations feats of 
jugglery, its hopes and promises deception, and its be- 
lievers lunatics. It will be the duty of the jury to recon- 
cile this conflict of testimony if they can. It is John 
Wesley's evidence against that of his church : the testi- 
mony of one great and good man as to what he saw and 
heard against that of 16,000,000 who did not see or hear. 
Which will you believe ? The question is one of fact — 
entirely for you. Here the court cannot assist you. 

Gentlemen, in the ethics of the creeds of the world, 
next to the four cardinal virtues to be practiced, are the 
three theological virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity, and 
the learned apostle says that where they abide, " the 
greatest of these is Charity." Would it not be emi- 
nently proper for both Christian ministers and editors of 
Christian Advocates to remember the words of Paul in 
his First Epistle to the Corinthians ? The average reflect- 
ing mind will fail to see why our neighbors^ should think 
for us in solving the great problem of the future, or why 
any one should ignore his own reason and convictions 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 147 

and adopt those of another, even though that other 
should wear a cassock or hold a ministerial diploma ; and 
when men presume to dictate to their fellows what they 
shall or shall not believe, it would be well for them to 
reflect that our reasoning faculties are beyond control and 
dictation ; that our convictions are always the result of 
evidence, and our beliefs formed upon proof. It is upon 
this theory that our courts of justice are organized, and 
the trial by jury tolerated. When we trust contending 
rights to the decision of the jury-box we know that there 
the law and the evidence only, can prevail. The law di- 
rects and guides the proceedings, while the minds of the 
jurors, acting as involuntarily as the heart or the lungs, 
believes or disbelieves according to the weight Of the 
evidence presented to them. You deserve neither praise 
nor condemnation for your honest convictions, for you 
cannot prevent their formation from what you see and 
hear ; and although you may err in your opinions, yet if 
you listen candidly and carefully to the testimony, and 
decide honestly, unswerved by prejudice, uninfluenced by 
" fear, favor, or affection," your error is no crime. A 
theology that would reward a man for a belief he could 
not avoid, and punish him for a disbelief he could not re- 
sist, is unworthy of the consideration of a jury : as justly 
might the Ethiopian be punished for his color, and the 
Caucasian rewarded for his tint, as to attribute blame 
or merit to the involuntary action of the human mind. 
Thought is not criminal, and reflection deserves neither 
punishment nor reward. 

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hear est the 
sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it 
goeth." 

So it is with the wanderings of that incomprehensible 
mental phenomenon called the human mind. As erratic as 



148 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

the wind, as uncontrollable as the waves of the ocean, it 
moves unceasingly from the knowledge of the past to the 
anticipations of the future, unfettered in its action, limit- 
less in the range of its movements ; governed by laws 
only known to the Creator ; the great unsolved mystery 
of our being, and the problem of the future. 

It is true that man by his will may control his actions, 
but not his thoughts or reflections ; he is only responsible 
for what he does or does not do ; but for the mental in- 
fluence of life's temptations, he is as irresponsible as the 
wind or the waves are for the destruction of the storm 
and the tempest. 

" Then at the balance let's be mute : 

We never can adjust it ; 
What's done we partly may compute, 

But know not what's resisted." 

But this much we do know : we are conscious of our 
own liability to err, and therefore should be charitable 
towards our fellows. "We should not censure without 
knowledge, nor condemn without a hearing : honest in- 
vestigation is the right and privilege of all, unquestioned 
save by intolerance and bigotry. 

Paul, in his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, says, — 

"Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things ; hold fast that 
which is good." 

Gentlemen of the Jury, here in concise words has the 
learned apostle defined your whole duty. Examine the 
evidence before you under the directions of this com- 
mand, and condemn or approve as your reason shall 
direct. Weigh well the testimony ; believe as jurors what 
you would credit as men ; respect the feelings and 
opinions of your fellows as you would have your own 
respected ; be charitable and honest ; shun bigotry and 
intolerance ; examine all the evidence with care and 
candor; follow the plain beaten path of careful judicial 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS* REPORT. 149 

investigation, and fearlessly publish your verdict to the 
world. No man should be ashamed of his honestly formed 
religious convictions, and he is a coward who fears to 
proclaim them. 

The fundamental principle or fact on which all religious 
beliefs or creeds are formed is a continuity of life from 
this to a spirit world ; on this belief depends the happi- 
ness of mankind. The plaintiffs in this case claim to 
have given conclusive evidence of this fact before you. 
Is it so? You alone are to determine, and render your 
verdict accordingly. You have heard the testimony of 
competent credible witnesses as to the evidence of an 
unseen, thinking intelligence that has manifested its pres- 
ence to them in various ways. If this fact is established 
to your satisfaction, then there are other enquiries for 
you to make. Is that intelligence a decarnate spirit as it 
purports to be ? Did it live before the time of its present 
manifestation, or is it the result of transitory surround- 
ings and the operation of laws of force unknown to 
science ? Is it like the flame of a lamp ? — a moment 
ago it was not; light it, and it now is; extinguish it, 
and it is no longer? Let us reason together as honest 
searchers after the truth. 

Descartes, the French scholar and philosopher, tersely 
said, — 

" Cogito, ergo sum — I think, therefore I am." 

And this concisely stated logical proposition has been 
accepted by the scientific and literary world as an axiom. 
I will add to it what the court believes to be its corollaiy. 

Memine, ergo fui — I remember, therefore I was, or have been. 

Surely the one proposition is as logical and self-evident 
as the other. Now, an unseen intelligence manifests it- 
self to us by raps or writing, — "J am " is therefore pres- 
ent : but more than this, it manifests recollections of the 



150 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 

past; therefore " I was" is also present in the same in- 
telligence. But " I was " passed away a quarter of a cen- 
tury ago, and now returns to us laden with the memories 
of by-gone events, and, like the long-lost son I have 
spoken of, presents unmistakable evidence of personal 
identity through the "ear-marks" of individual recollec- 
tions. Does not the combination of li I am" and u I 
was " in the same intelligence prove conclusively the con- 
tinuity of the life of " I was" with "I am"? And if 
this continuity has continued for a quarter of a century, 
why not through all the ages of eternity ? Who shall dare 
to assume the knowledge of the Creator, and say " I was" 
as a spirit has lived from the distant past to the present, 
but shall live no longer? "What knowledge of science 
can determine the boundaries of a life that has survived 
the dissolution of the body, and lives beyond death and the 
grave? Can the theory of "mind-reading" or "uncon- 
scious cerebration" assist in refuting the logical deduc- 
tions evolved in this proposition? Remember that the 
pages of memory of every individual person are different ; 
the incidents of no two lives are alike. The stories of 
private griefs and the records of pleasure and pain are 
unlike in every volume of human biography. Therefore 
" I ivas" can only relate its recollections through " I am" 
and these ' ' foot-prints " of memory can be measured and 
identified by contemporary living persons, as well as fam- 
ilies and friends can the actual presence or return of 
one long mourned as dead. Gentlemen of the Jury, if 
you find from the evidence that these manifestations of a 
present unseen intelligence combined with recollections 
of the past actually occur, your verdict ought to be for 
the plaintiff, for the defendants have not performed their 
duty faithfully and impartially with this phenomenon un- 
explained. The frauds they discovered, and seem to re- 
joice over with unseemly joy, do' not disprove the great 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 151 

fact of spirit life and communications ; and strange 
indeed would it be, if the desultory and imperfect inves- 
tigation of the defendants should confound the patient, 
careful, and laborious researches of the host of eminent 
scientists who have testified for the plaintiff in this case. 
Gentlemen, since man was created and placed in the 
Eden of earth, — since its beautiful gardens, the forests, 
were first made vocal with song, — the question, what shall 
his future be ? has been paramount to all others, and as our 
race shall advance in knowledge, more and more will it 
become the all-absorbing problem of human life. The 
mysteries of death, the probabilities of the great un- 
known, have been the subject of the poet's song and 
the orator's theme during all historic period ; the records 
of the Bible, which the plaintiffs have offered as evidence 
in this case, teem with narrations of both spirit life, mani- 
festations, and ministrations. The wonderful Nazarene, 
whose life was an episode of wonderful beauty and vir- 
tue ; who was eminent in purity and wealth of 4nstructive 
thought, in consecration to truth, love for men, and rever- 
ence for the Deity, was a great medium. He healed the 
sick, and unsealed the eyes of the blind with the touch 
of his fingers. At his bidding the grave opened and the 
crumbling flesh walked abroad in newness of life. He 
was the friend of the poor, and hesitated not to rebuke 
sin though clothed in purple and fine linen. " From the 
manger to the mountain, from the mountain to the gar- 
den, from the garden to the cross, and from the cross to 
the home of the Great Father," in every step of his life 
his spiritual nature was made manifest. And when he 
appeared to the two Marys, and came to his disciples 
in a room, the doors being shut, and bade the doubt- 
ing Thomas thrust his hand into his wounded side, and 
showed his pierced and bleeding hands, he demonstrated 
at once his holy mission and the truths claimed by Modern 



152 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

Spiritualism. Gentlemen, if this story be true, the testi- 
mony seems to be conclusive ; and you will as Christian 
men give it great weight in forming your verdict. If 
you believe the Bible, you must not ignore its evidence in 
this case. 

Gentlemen, it is the duty of the court to briefly call 
your attention to some of the testimony introduced by 
the defendants. 

First, you will remember what we have already said to 
you : that the evidence of fraudulent acts by individuals 
does not in the least affect a theory of either science or 
religion, but is only inculpatory of the persons base 
enough to perpetrate them. The magician only imitates 
natural phenomena, and if he does deceive the public 
thereby, it is only evidence that he can do so ; nothing 
more. The phenomena occur the same as if there was 
neither a Commission nor a magician in existence. 

In the second place, there is an old maxim which was 
written in Latin as long ago as the time when all legal 
pleadings were set forth in that ancient language, i.e. : — 

" Allegans suam turpitudinem non est audiendus — A person 
alleging his own infamy is not to be heard." 

This maxim applies more particularly in this case to 
the unfortunate woman who possesses an abnormal con- 
science as well as a toe. The infamy is more particularly 
attached to her owner or manager who exhibits a lusus 
naturae or moral monstrosity for gain. This maxim is 
not only a rule of law, but of common sense, and its edict 
is fully justified by the experience of mankind. 

Thirdly, you have the evidence of the diabolical origin 
of the phenomena. This testimony is in direct conflict 
with the other evidence of the defendants, and, so far, it 
weakens their case, for it proves the spirit origin of that 
which the Seybert Commissioners attribute to legerde- 



153 

main. The testimony clearly confutes the theory of 
magic, and if you believe it, conclusively shows that the 
defendants have not fully investigated the subject, and 
cannot do so until they have become better acquainted 
with the spirit that preferred to hold communion with 
a preacher to a lawyer. Surely, the members of the 
Seybert Commission need fear no antagonism from 
that source, but rather aid and assistance in their " future 
investigations." 

In conclusion, I cannot submit this case to you without 
again expressing my disapprobation of some things that 
have occurred in its discussion. The counsel for the 
plaintiff has indulged in many personalities and unkind 
sarcasms. This was wrong, and the court does not ap- 
prove of it. He was probably induced to take this course 
from the fact that when the defendants presented their 
case to the jury of public opinion in the "Report of 
the Seybert Commissioners" they indulged in insulting 
" asides " in the presence of witnesses ; perpetrated vulgar 
jokes and stale witticisms at the expense of the present 
plaintiff, and quoted infidel sentiments purporting to have 
been written b}~ one William Shakespeare, — or by Lord 
Bacon, — some three hundred years ago. But this, gentle- 
men, was no justification to him. No contestant in a 
legal forum should forget the proprieties of life because 
of the frailty of memory in his adversary : wrong + 
wrong = right was never either a logical or moral 
equation. This controversy should have been conducted 
in a thoughtful and respectful manner, — one becoming 
the magnitude and solemnity of the questions involved. 
There is no argument in sarcasm, no logic in personali- 
ties ; yet the one usually provokes the other. Men are 
sensitive on the subject of their religious belief, because 
it often involves the weal or woe of those dear to them. 
There are but few of us who have not mourned over the 



154 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

coffins of those who have passed away. The dumb elo- 
quence of the lips of death appeals to our emotional 
nature much stronger than the oratory of the living. Our 
love for those who once walked by our side in life, and 
whose presence was the sunlight of our home, makes us 
sensitive in our beliefs of their future beyond the mystic 
river ; and devoid of feeling is the heart that would 
prompt the lips to utter a word or sentence calculated to 
create a doubt of the great reunion of friends and family 
in a better world. When thinking men and women con- 
scientiously believe that they have conversed with their 
living dead, that belief deserves the respect of the truly 
Christian mind, and it is heartless and cruel to make it 
the subject of unseemly scoff and ridicule. It would have 
been much better if the defendants had remembered this 
in making their report. 

Contumely in discussion begets contumely, and is re- 
turned like an answering echo. Bitterness engenders 
bitterness, and closes the mind to the appeals of reason 
and the demands of logic. Like oil upon the troubled 
waters is the recognition of our fellows' rights and a 
respect for their opinions. Oh ! why cannot the waring 
creeds of religion remember this and greet each other 
fraternally as they meet on the highways and byways of 
life ? Why should martyrdom have stained the fair pages 
of the history of the followers of the loving Nazarene in 
times long past, and why should hatred and ostracism 
mar the social intercourse of the present? Why should 
not fraternal feeling bind together all who seek to increase 
the happiness of mankind? Why not let our brother do 
good after his own fashion, while we seek to emulate him 
in ours? With one goal ahead of us, one common des- 
tiny in life at its end, why should we not cheer our fellows 
with the evidence each of us receives as we pass along, of 
what is beyond? 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 155 

If the theory of Spiritualism is true ; if there is demon- 
strative evidence of a future life ; if there is a beautiful 
country where 

' ' — the flesh can no longer control 
The freedom and faith of a God-given soul " ; 

where the potentiality of spirit life is onward and upward 
forever ; where Excelsior ! and yet Excelsior ! is the 
thought that animates the host that throng its beautiful 
landscapes, illumined by the sunlight of the presence of 
the Creator ; where loving friends and kindred shall meet 
again ; where children shall be clasped in maternal em- 
brace, with no thought of future pain or parting ; where 
a loving father " shall wipe away all tears from all faces," 
and welcome the penitent spirit with a white robe of 
divine forgiveness ; if there is indeed such a celestial abid- 
ing place, far, far away from the fabled caverns and fires 
of " Hades," and Spiritualism can demonstrate this great 
truth to a disbelieving world, the man who would try 
to thwart its revelations, or sneer at its evidence, posses- 
ses a spirit that demons might covet and devils emulate. 
Such a man has mental attributes that deserve recogni- 
tion ; is worthy of a "portfolio" in the cabinet of Milton's 
Prince of Darkness, and a seat beside his throne, in the 
realms of infinite misery and woe. The theory of earthly 
politics, of " rotation in office," or objections to a " third 
term," ought not to affect him, but he should hold his 
position during life or good behavior. 

Where the horrible phantom of a wrathful, revengeful 
God, whose hatred for the children he had begotten en- 
dured forever, first originated, is lost in the mystery and 
obscurity of the past ; but probably belongs to the dark 
period of savagery and barbarism when the blood of 
human sacrifices was supposed to be sweet incense to 
the Most High. Long, long ages have passed since then, 



156 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

and yet the dregs or sediments of these infamous beliefs 
stain many of the creeds of to-day. Gentlemen of the 
Jury, you must not be influenced by them. Lay aside all 
prejudice against either plaintiff or defendant ; seek only 
for the truth, and when you have found it proclaim it to 
the world in your verdict, regardless of the consequences, 
or of the opinion of men ; regardless of everything save 
honor — and honesty — and the obligations of your oaths 
as jurors. 

Per Curiam. 



REPORT. 157 



POSTSCRIPTUM. 

" Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye and 
a tooth for a tooth. 

" But I say unto you that ye resist not evil : bu#whosoever shall 
smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also." 

Matt. v. 38, 39. 

My readers will observe that the honorable court, in 
the charge to the jury, criticises the manner in which I 
have reviewed the Report of the Seybert Commissioners, 
censures the personalities and sarcasm in which I have 
inadvertently indulged, and suggests that all controversies 
in relation to the religious opinions of mankind should be 
conducted in a spirit of charity and tolerance, with due 
and becoming respect for the sincere beliefs and conscien- 
tious convictions of our fellows, and in accordance with 
the teachings of the Golden Rule. 

I acknowledge the justice of the rebuke administered 
to me by the court, and if I have written anything that 
has hurt the feelings of any one, I sincerely regret it. I 
know full well that if all men would obey the injunction 
of the Nazarene, as given in St. Matthew, the world 
would be much better and happier therefor, for then no 
one would smite his fellow ; and if the creed of orthodoxy 
be true, so " it might have been," but for an apparent mis- 
take or oversight of the Creator, when he molded our 
respected progenitor out of the dust of the earth. 

I do not give the following as my own views of the 
origin, fall, and redemption of man, but as a plain state- 
ment of the popular creeds of orthodoxy which I find 
convenient to recognize and adopt as true in my apology 
or excuse for anything I have written that called forth 
the criticism of the court. 



158 ADDENDUM TO THE EEVIEW OF 



Orthodox Interpretation of the Scripture. 

In the first chapter of the book of our revered traditions 
we read : — 

"And God said, let us make man in our image, after our 
likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image 
of God created ne him." 

The conclusion of the narrative states in most concise 
words as follows : — 

" And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it 
was very good." 

Now it is evident that it is not intended to convey the 
idea in the narrative that the Creator made man in his 
physical image, but in the image of his mental, moral, or 
spiritual being, and when all was done, * ' he saw that it 
was very good." This is the interpretation of the account 
in Genesis, as given by many learned orthodox commenta- 
tors, which pro hac vice I accept, with all its logical deduc- 
tions and conclusions. 

But, strange to say, if orthodoxy be true, the Creator 
overlooked the trifling ingredient of "total depravity," 
which, in some unexplained manner got among the ele- 
ments out of which man was made. This, of course, was 
accidental, for the Deity seemed to think he had made 
man " in his own image" and that " he was very good." 
Yet as a little "leaven leaveneth the whole lump," this 
vagabond ingredient of "total depravity" finally over- 
came all the other component parts of man's composition, 
and what was thought by the Creator to be very good, 
turned out to be very bad. Notwithstanding all the efforts 
of creative power to remedy this evil, it continues to this 
day, and men will not obey the divine command ; they 
will not always return good for evil ; and when one cheek 
is smarting from the blow of an adversary, they will not 



THE SEYBERT COMMISSIONERS' REPORT. 159 

turn the other to receive the same indignity. This of 
course is owing to the error in man's original composition. 

When we consider the object the Deity had in the 
creation of man, as given in all the orthodox creeds, this 
mistake was not only a very unaccountable one, but it 
was very disastrous in its consequences, and entirely 
defeated the original plan of the Creator. It will be 
observed that, according to orthodoxy, man was made 
to take the place of the " fallen angels " ; that is, accord- 
ing to the inspired account, while heaven is a place " where 
no sin can enter," " where moths and rust cannot corrupt, 
nor thieves break through and steal," yet the very first 
sin originated there, which was the crime of rebellion and 
war against the government. How the battles were de- 
cided is not evident, as all the soldiers were immortal 
spirits, and could not be killed or maimed in the conflict. 
Yet after many bloodless battles the rebels were con- 
quered, and with their leader hurled down to Avernus. 

According to the cheerful teachings of modern theology, 
ever since the Creator made man to take the place of the 
rebels, the arch traitor and his cabinet of evil spirits have 
been untiring in their efforts to contaminate all mankind 
with evil, and seem to have succeeded to the utmost of 
their desires ; and so far this confirms the Crumrinian 
theory of so-called spirit manifestations. Unceasing in 
their effort, for three thousand years they defied the 
powers that had conquered them on the battle-fields of 
heaven. Countless millions of men lived and died in 
their sins, for which no atonement had as yet been pre- 
pared. The world was swept with flood, then it was red 
with the blood of murdered women and children ; and when 
the cruel, remorseless conqueror Joshua had butchered 
the enemies of the Jews throughout all the land, the sun 
stood still upon Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of 
Ajalon, for one whole day, that the Lord's chosen servant 



160 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

might make hell glad because of the victory of evil over 
good. What a glorious event was that to the Prince of 
Darkness ! and as the thousands of the spirits of those 
murdered on that awful day, and who died without an 
atonement, came pouring through the blazing gates of 
Hades, how Apollyon must have rejoiced at the success- 
ful effect of the ingredient he surreptitiously dropped into 
the composition of man. Verily the Creator was deceived. 
Man created in his image was not very good, as he had 
said, and never has been. And even after the great plan 
of salvation had been devised by the Divine mind, and a 
sacrifice prepared wherein the Creator's wrath was molli- 
fied by the death of the sinless for the sinner, when a 
God had died to appease his own anger against the beings 
he had created, when this was accomplished, even then 
the spirit of evil prevailed over the good, and men to-day 
will not obey the commands of the Deity, and will not 
turn the untouched cheek to receive an undeserved blow, 
but, in the perversity of their depraved nature, will defend 
themselves and those they love from ruffianly abuse and 
oppression. This evil propensity seems to pervade all 
animated nature, for even 

" The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on," 

and try to sting the foot about to crush it. This seem- 
ingly innate disposition to resist force with force in self- 
defence is my only plea in justification of what I have 
said in my review ; or, in more concise language, I might 
give the same excuse that " Topsy " did for her manifold 
sins and transgressions. 

My Conclusions. 

After two years of investigation of so-called spirit phe- 
nomena, I am constrained to say that, while I have wit- 
nessed a number of fraudulent manifestations, — the feats 



REPORT. 161 

of pretended mediums, — yet in the language of Professor 
De Morgan, 

" I have both seen and heard, in a manner which should make 
unbelief impossible, things called spiritual, which cannot be 
taken by a rational being to be capable of explanation by impos- 
ture, coincidence, or mistake. So far I feel the ground firm 
under me." 

"What the cause of these phenomena is I am not so 
certain. If there is a spirit world, the visit of spiritual 
beings to this earth is the only rational mode of account- 
ing for them. If there is no spirit life, if the intelligence 
of earth lives not bej'ond the grave, if the longings and 
aspirations of the human mind for immortalit}^ are all 
visionary and baseless as the fabric of a dream, if the 
promises of the Creator, made to man through his in- 
stincts, are all false, then there is no beyond ; the grave 
is the boundary of life, and it would have been far better 
for our race if the Creator had never breathed into the 
inanimate dust the breath of life, and written " Excel- 
sior " upon the tablets of the human soul. 

If the awful doom of utter annihilation is the destinj 7 
of mankind, then spirit phenomena do not exist, and 
science will yet explain the wonders performed by an 
unseen intelligence that apparently lives and loves, re- 
members the past, and asserts in the most positive manner 
its earthly origin and its continued existence in a spirit 
world. Should future scientific investigation explain all 
the incomprehensible phenomena of spirit manifestations 
by " correlation or conservation of force," I sincerely 
hope it may be after I am dead, for now the dark doubts 
of uncertainty have been removed from my mind by what 
appears to me to be demonstrative evidence of the most 
conclusive character; and unless science explains all, and 
again leaves me under the terrible shadow of disbelief, I 
shall die with a full belief in immortality and its spirit 



162 ADDENDUM TO THE REVIEW OF 

demonstrations, and from the endless sleep of the grave 
I shall never awake to know that I have been deceived. 

I care not for the sophistry of creeds or the denials of 
dogma. I know what I have seen and heard on the 
border-land of so-called spirit life. The feats of ten 
thousand " itinerating showmen," endorsed by the absurd 
arrogance of reverend oracles, and reinforced by the 
cruel wit and senseless jokes of a great Commission, 
cannot make me doubt the evidence of my senses. Even 
the diabolical creed of the good preacher has no terrors 
for me ; for if the spirits are, evil, they are nevertheless 
spirits, and there is a spirit world ; and I cannot believe 
that, in the benevolence of the Creator, the evil alone 
shall live while the good shall die forever ; that the gift 
of eternal life is only to demons and devils, while man, 
made in the image of his Creator, is, as stated by the 
Bard of Avon, and endorsed by the Seybert Commission- 
ers, of 

" Such stuff 

As dreams are made on, and our little life 

Is rounded with a sleep." 

I am fast approaching the allotted period of human life. 
I would not willingly deceive myself or countenance de- 
ception in a matter so important to me as the evidence of 
a future existence. I am accustomed to the examination 
of testimony in our courts where life and death are in- 
volved in the pending issue. After ten years' experience 
in scientific laboratories and forty years at the bar in 
investigating evidence, I cannot resist the conscientious 
convictions forced upon me by what I have seen and 
heard, and all that "saint, sage, or sophist ever writ" 
cannot lessen the force of the evidence of my senses. 
' My belief is not voluntary ; it has been forced upon me 
against all my former predilections, against the logic of 
early education, and the conclusions of more mature years, 



REPORT. 163 

and I sincerely believe that the true phenomena of so- 
called spirit manifestations deserve the candid investiga- 
tion of both science and religion, and that eventually it 
will receive it at the hands of all save those who are 
so blinded by bigotry that they will not see, or so preju- 
diced by creeds that they will not hear, even though one 
should speak to them from the dead. 

This Addendum has been much more hastily written 
than my former review. In it I only desire to present 
cumulative evidence of the truthfulness of some of the 
claims of Spiritualism. All of its demands may not be 
true, yet all are worthy of investigation ; and while fraud 
and deception may mingle with its truths, yet so does 
hypocrisy permeate all the religious creeds of the day. 
Verily is it so, that they are not all righteous who in 
" that da} r shall say," 

" Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy 
name have cast out devils ? and in thy name done many wonder- 
ful works ? " 

And it is not unusual, even in this era of asserted self- 
righteousness, to find among both priests and laymen 

11 Men who steal the livery of the court of heaven 
To serve the devil in." 

A grain of truth, though not larger than a mustard 
seed, deserves consideration ; for when planted in proper 
soil it may become a tree with great branches, " so that 
the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it." 
All investigators should remember the words of the great 
Milton, that, 

1 ' Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as 
the sunbeam." 

Gentlemen of the Seybert Commission, let us have a 
candid, careful investigation, and a truthful report thereof. 
Kespectfully yours, 

A. B. Richmond. 



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